Volleyball 2004 Preseason Journal Part 5: Julie Farley
8/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fifth in a series of daily journals written by Crimson Tide volleyball players. The journals will give a first-hand account of their experiences as they prepare for the 2004 season, and give an inside look at Alabama Volleyball.
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At 7:30 am, the alarm clock rings. It felt like I just went to sleep like 15 minutes before that!!! After hitting the snooze button a few times, I rolled out of bed knowing that I had a full day ahead of me. Looking ahead at our preseason schedule, I noticed that today was going to be the longest day of them all. Not only did we have six hours of practice scheduled, but after all that we still had to lift weights! I could already feel the legs burning. But at the same time I was excited to get better, as that is the Crimson Tide Volleyball daily goal: “Get better every single day”.
Practice began at 8 am for the setters and at 8:30 am for the right sides. Team practice began at 9 am and lasted the full three hours until 12 pm. We started off by doing a lot of ball control, which was led by Erich. After we got a really good sweat going it was time for our strength coach Jami to stretch us out. We all love Jami and she is an awesome strength coach, although at times she can be our favorite person to hate! After stretching we did a lot of digging. We really focused on dig location in order to be able to run a successful offense. At the end of practice we learned the defense against a middle attack. The coaches hit at us on boxes, and we had a chance to block and dig them, which is always fun. During the drill Megan Hudson, one of our freshman, went down with an ankle sprain. I felt really bad because it was my foot that she fell on! But she is a really tough girl so she didn’t even let the team know the pain she was feeling. So Megan I am really sorry and heal that ankle...we need you back!
After the first practice we all went our separate ways for lunch break and then came back to the gym at 3 pm for another practice. We finally reached our goal of getting a fast, good start at practice. This afternoon we got to put together everything that we had been taught and play a little. We had a ton of fun with that. Coach Judy came out and showed off her setting skills after yet another setter/type player went down with an ankle sprain. Abbi Blackburn sprained her ankle and was out for the rest of practice. So Abbi and Megan sat on the sidelines and cheered us on. Abbi needs to get better fast too, because we need her intelligence and leadership back on the court as soon as possible!
After practice was over, we all went to the weight room for a light lift. We got paired up and began the work out. My weight partner is Bridget Fuentes, and I am very happy with that partnership. Bridget is one of our freshman, and she is so fun to be around. She makes me laugh all the time. All of our freshman this year are outgoing and fun, we are all really excited to get to know them better.
I can’t finish this without giving a shout out to my girl Crystal Hudson. She is the funniest person in America and I am so glad to have her on my team. She keeps us all on the floor laughing all the time. So Crystal thanks for all the laughs and keep working hard out there!! Also, to Katie and Rachael, way to work hard at being middles. Thug Club for life!
All in all, we had an awesome day! If we keep getting better every day like our goal states, then this team is really going places...really!!! I can’t wait to see where the next few months bring us. Roll Tide!!!
Julie Farley
