Soccer 2005 Preseason Journal: Part 1
8/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Alabama junior defender Emily Pitek will give her account of the Crimson Tide’s pre-season work in her diary each day leading up to the beginning of the season.
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The sun is shining, the mosquitoes are biting and it is hot outside. That can only mean one thing: Alabama Soccer has begun!
As I got out of my car and was walking to the stadium to report for pre-season practice Thursday, I noticed families and unfamiliar freshmen faces scattered all over the parking lot trying to move their belongings into the locker room to be stored. To get an idea of what it was like, picture ants marching in a line and suddenly a bread crumb is dropped in front of them. Clearly it was a scene of organized chaos.
After everyone settled in, we gathered together, had a few meetings, got our gear, ate (which, by the way, happens every opportunity we get) and then the fun began. The nervousness of the freshmen coupled with the excitement of the returning team made for a great 11 versus 11 scrimmage. Mind you, with twelve new freshmen, this is something that our squad hasn’t been able to do in some time, especially this past spring.
After about two hours of playing and a dip in the “party bucket” and a lovely meal cooked by our manager, Brody Townsend, we returned home to rest up for the second day of preseason.
And that brings me to Friday, which included several meetings and after an attempt made by 25 soccer players to be America’s next “top model” (team pictures) we had a break before reconvening on the track to run the dreaded Cooper Test (7 1/4 laps in 12 minutes). If you didn’t know our team, you would have thought us to be a group of pessimists before the test was run, but a quick 12 minutes after coach muttered the word, “GO!” the result of the amount of people who made it was simply fantastic!
The scrimmage brought out a lot of good in the team. Coach mixed and matched the teams up and the results were great. However, the game was cut short so that the score wouldn’t be completely lopsided. A few sprints and some fitness work later and the second day of pre-season came to a close.
These past two days reminded me of songs by Mase and David Bowie. The first day’s theme was “Welcome Back” (but the remix version because according to Courntey Cockrill, “It’s sooo much better”) and the second day it was clear you could see that Alabama Soccer is embarking on some “ch-ch-ch-changes,” but of course, they’re only for the better!
Until tomorrow,
Emily Pitek
ROLL TIDE
