High Point University will feature a blog this fall on highpointpanthers.com by women's soccer player
Robin Pecoraro (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce-Creek). Pecoraro will write about the team and her experiences as a women's soccer player at High Point University.
The wait is over, the time is here, preseason has finally arrived. The High Point University women's soccer team is back on campus and ready to get started on yet another memorable year. Hi, I'm
Robin Pecoraro a returning midfielder and a junior from Daytona Beach, Fla. I'll be one of the player's blogging about our team and keeping you all up to date on the exciting things we are doing.
We came rolling into campus about a month ago ready to get things started. In a mixture of emotions from excitement to nerves we gathered outside Millis to meet the newbies and get the basics out of the way. It's hard to describe that first meeting, it's almost like you are getting reunited with your best friend or a very close family member after being away from each other for months. There are hugs, laughs, stories and just an awesome realization that your family is back and another great season is about to get underway.
That first day flew by and the next week or so we really got after it with the dreaded three-a-days better known as PRESEASON. It all starts with fitness test. For our team, we have three different running test from a series of sprints, to suicides, and even a two-mile test to make sure our endurance is up to par. However, the main test is called the Manchester United aka the Man U. This consist of 100 yard sprints that you must make in a specified time and then make it back to the starting line before the next minute begins. Our team fitness level is 15 so in order to touch a ball, or practice in general, each player individually must make at least 15 sprints in the designated time. Amidst the nerves and anxiety to meet Coaches expectations the team did great and in no time we had all the healthy field players training!
I have had a little different experience then the rest of the team this season because I have been recovering from a summer injury so I haven't been released to train fully. Instead of being out on the field working my tail off I've had to accept my temporary new role of being a team player from the side line, encouraging the girls, giving them a shoulder to catch their breath on, and continually having a positive attitude to keep the moral high. Although not being able to play with the girls is killing me, I have to say this new role is very rewarding!
Although I'm not out on the field “getting after it” (our theme for the season) with the rest of the girls I feel every bit a part of their success. Each and every practice brings a new intensity and high level of competition. Over these past couple weeks it's been incredible to watch what the team has done. One of the ways that Coach has tried to instill a mentality of competition within our team this season is the MATRIX competition. The MATRIX is a series of different soccer skills, fitness, and small side games that we acquire points for top performances and the Coach posts the top 10 players in the locker room. It rewards the hard work of those girls but also to motivate the rest of the team to continue to work hard in an effort to make the list next time its updated.
The first week of preseason culminated in our exhibition match against the UNC Greensboro. And wow, how amazing was it to see how quickly we came together like a team and made some things work. Last year we played UNCG during the regular season and we got our butts handed to us. This year it was totally different. We played them straight out in the system we are going to play throughout the year and we gave them a run for their money. The game of soccer, in my mind, is won by capitalizing on the other team's mistakes. Although the game was back and forth and no team really had dominate control UNCG was able to get a few good breaks and punish us for the couple mistakes that we made. The final score was 4-1, not the ending we we're hoping to come out with but we found a lot of positive things to take from the game. Coach was really encouraging and the girls also were in good spirits. In fact on the way to the bus one of the returners on the team,
Brielle Spencer, made a remark that had the whole team giggling: “Hey guys it's the first game of the season and we've already scored, last year we didn't have this feeling until we were 11 games deep”
After the game we had the following morning off to recover and then an evening session that truly tested the mental toughness of the team. After an exhilarating game against UNCG, Coach had us scheduled for fitness and technical work for the evening. Instead of getting all frustrated and upset about more fitness, something we all dread, the girls were excited to get after it. The atmosphere out there was amazing. While the team was working on foot skills, finishing, and some speed and agility, the injured (including me) were going through an ab course with the strength and conditioning coach. Everyone was tired but that didn't stop a single person from cheering for the rest of the team to make sure each and every girl got through the workout. Coach had been harping all preseason that if we want to be successful we're going to have to do it TOGETHER as a team and not individuals and that practice was a testament to how serious we are about making a positive name for our program and how we are all in this journey together. After practice we were all in the locker room and one of our freshmen,
Becca Hemby, turned to the team and was like, “Wow, that felt really good. I feel like we accomplished something tonight!”
As a way to recover physically but continue to grow as a team Coach scheduled a day of fun working together to master various challenges on a low ropes course. We were privileged to join the volleyball team and head down to Charlotte to experience a real ropes course. When we arrived the volleyball team went their own way while we split up into two different groups to accommodate our large team on the different challenges. Each group went to different stations that required us to work together as a team and help each other in order to get from point A to point B. We did all sorts of low rope challenges like crossing a tight rope, log jumping, and connecting swings.
After a few hours apart we came together for the final challenge. It was the wall climb, a twelve foot high wall that each play had to be hoisted over by their teammates. The challenge was, once you had made it over the wall, when you came back down you could no longer be a lifter but rather just a supporter. Once we were given all the rules and guidelines we talked about a plan on how we thought we could attack the wall. We lined up with a 'tall' girl every four people so we would always have a tall person at the top of the wall. We also kept some girls that we know are relatively strong near the end so they could help longer with the hoisting. We also strategically picked Sammi Vercellino to be our last person over since she is the lightest on the team. Once we had everyone lined up we were ready to get things started. We started off great, we were tossing girls up and having a great time. However, as the number of girls left to go up the wall dwindled things got a little tougher. We finally had it down to the very last person Sammi. Sammi was going to have to run and jump as high as she could and hope that one of the girls at the top of the wall would be able to grab her hand and pull her up. There was a sense of fear in Sammi's eyes as the whole team tried to calm her and encourage her.
Danniel Rosado called out at one point, “Sammi trust your teammates.” It was so cool to see the calmness that came over Sammi when Rosado made that comment. It was almost like she was carefree now because she knew we were going to do everything we could to help her. After a few trial runs Sammi took off and leaped into the air as Becca was able to grab hold of her hand just long enough for Rosado, Lexie, and me to pull her the rest of the way up. There were cheers and hugs as we had accomplished a very challenging task and while doing so grew as a team.
When everyone has settled down we gathered in a circle and talked about what we had learned from each other and how we could apply the different things from the ropes course such as communication, encouragement, and trust into our games. The ropes course was incredible as we took a huge step forward as a team but also each girl was able to break out of their shell and open up to the team helping us with our goal of togetherness. After the ropes course we joined the volleyball team again for lunch and games at Dave and Busters before heading back to High Point for the day. We ended our day off at Barberitos, a local Mexican style restaurant that is a High Point University Women's Soccer sponsor. At Barbs we handed our schedules, signed autographs, and talked to the people from the community about our upcoming season.
As preseason is finishing up and our home and season opener game is this Friday, we are all happy about how far we have come already and have faith in how far we can go. We are all excited for this season and can't wait to see all the great things we are able to accomplish as a team and a program.
Post No. 1 by Robin Pecoraro on Friday, Aug. 20, 2010.
