Training Camp Diary: Senior Alex Butera
8/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Aug. 21, 2009
We have officially ended preseason and we are all happy we survived. We started school Wednesday and only a few of us (the freshmen) got lost and confused. With the start of school comes the end of two-a-days and the beginning of regular season practices. We had the day off on Wednesday (thank you again coaches!!) so our first regular practice was Thursday. There was definitely an excitement out on the field as we prepared for Friday's big game. We reviewed a lot of our set pieces and then played one of our favorite games, the box game.
Thursday night our team families (the team was divided into families, which was designed as a way for us all to become closer and will hopefully continue on for years to come) got together and had to visit one fraternity to promote 80's night at the game tomorrow. Even though there was a monsoon outside, my family stopped by the Theta Chi in hopes to gain more fans for our game. After that we had a nice family dinner consisting of a delicious salad and pasta.
I am looking so forward to the game against UAB and I know the team is too. They have been a rival of ours for years, and it is always a competitive match. We have eighteen more games on the schedule, but we want to continue our season to the SEC tournament in November and then on to the NCAA tournament.
Aug. 17, 2009
With only two more days of preseason left, "we can all see the light at the end of the tunnel". Our team is looking forward to a normal practice schedule and starting our season. The two exhibition games were great learning experiences. There is a lot that we can take with us going into the season that we gained from the two games. We are getting better at playing together as a team, challenging for every ball, and finishing the opportunities we are given.
To start off our week, we had a great team bonding experience yesterday. Our wonderful assistant coaches Tatum and Jason took the team to Kobe for one of the most delicious meals and then we played two rounds of bowling at the local Bama Lanes Bowling alley. You learn a lot about your teammates when you have team bonding days, for instance that Ashley and Laura are really good at bowling because of the many bowling trips they took with school and friends. There was also some self discovery going on... Grace found out she needed the assistance of a walker to help her bowl. We had a lot of fun and were very thankful for coaches for planning the day.
Today starts off the ending of preseason and the beginning of the regular season. We are looking so forward to our upcoming game on Friday against UAB. We have put a lot of effort into this preseason , along with a group of other people, and we are excited to start seeing results.
Speaking of other people there are so many we have to thank. Obviously, we are very appreciative of the coaching staff for taking the time every morning and night to train us and for dedicating your time to our team. Sherry and her staff, thanks for ALL of the treatment you provide, the water you fuel our bodies with, and the amazing cold tubs. Thanks to the managers, Brian and Anthony, for being Tatum's helpers and for the food and laundry you provide for us (among the other list of chores you help us with). To all of the food places that have provided us with delicious meals..our team TRULY thanks you for it and we would not have survived without you! We look forward to seeing our fans out there this Friday night for our first home game, and the other many nights to come!
Aug. 14, 2009
Preseason is continuing to go well. We are further in the week, which means we are almost done with two-a-days (something the team is looking very forward to). We met with Coach I on Tuesday to start our first official day of lifting (the soccer team would like to give a shout out to Coach I and his wife Karen and say thank you very much for the delicious breakfast you made, we appreciate it!!). After we lifted weights with Coach I we headed to the cold tubs to regenerate before our scrimmage later that night. Game time was set to start at 7:00, but due to the crazy, unpredictable weather of Alabama we had a rain delay. We did end up waiting out the storm and our 45 minute scrimmage went really well. It's exciting to see how much we are improving.
Wednesday was an easier day. We started out early with Tatum doing some light laps around the field and some stretching. Coach I came by for a visit and did an abs workout with us. Then, it was on to the fun stuff, massages. Our team split off into partners, grabbed a massage stick, and we worked out all of the knots from our legs and back.
Thursday was an exciting day because it was our first home game for the 2009 season. We started out, like most home game mornings, playing a few games in the REC gym to get our bodies awake and ready for the upcoming game. The team split up into 4 teams according to age (which the upperclassmen love because we always dominate!). We played two rounds of walking soccer/basketball where you have to dribble around the court and the only way to score is by popping the ball up to your teammates hands and then she can make a basket. The final game was off course the two upperclassmen teams. Unfortunately, my team was unsuccessful (but that`s only because we were a man down.) After that finished we played a round of Knock Out, which was so fun to watch because there are some people on our team who should just stick to soccer as their careers.
The game itself was a learning experience. Our result was obviously something we were not happy about, but it's something that we are going to learn from and it will help us grow as a team. We watched filmed today (Friday) and it really helped us in a positive way. We saw our mistakes, talked about how to make things better, and now we are ready to give everything in the game tomorrow. This morning we went the REC pool for a regeneration. We did some laps in the pool, some stretching, and then there was the competition. We split up into groups and did a relay race around the lazy river portion of the pool. I started the first lap for me team and as we began I was tackled into the side of the pool by two of my competitors (Brooke and Katie...not to name names or anything) but somehow our team ended up winning!!
Aug. 10, 2009
We are on our fourth day of pre-season and things have been going pretty well. We started preseason officially on Thursday the 6th, but that was mainly just a paperwork and photo shoot day; however, we did receive our equipment, which always feels like Christmas to us! On Friday we knocked out the beep test, the last time the seniors will ever have to run to the sound of a beep!! Even though our results were not where we wanted them, that did not stop us from having a good training session.
The next day, starting at 6:30 a.m. we tackled the 300's test, and then it was off to graduation for me (I tried to convince Tatum to allow the team to come and watch me walk on the stage but she was not into the idea.) Over the past couple of days we have been working really hard. We come to practice focused and ready and the competition among each other is strong. You can tell we are already forming team chemistry through the support and encouragement we show each other.
Of course, even with all of the hard work, there has been some fun! Our team of eaters are really enjoying the fantastic meals Tatum has provided for us like sandwiches from Jimmy Johns and McAlister's and dinners ranging from chicken parmesan to salmon. Another thing our team greatly enjoys during the hot, long days is a nice bath in the cold tubs after practice.
It's really a great time for bonding when we are crammed together in the icy waters recalling the different funny moments from previous preseasons. Tatum and Anthony, our wonderful manager, have been videotaping moments from our preseason, some good and some not so good, so it will be exciting to eventually watch it. We are looking forward to the upcoming games and hope to come out of this week with two wins!
