Chantel Jones: Pearls of Wisdom

Michigan Preseason #6

As I look back on my years at Virginia, one thing sticks out to me the most, that I have been to preseason 6 times! Every year in early August, our women's soccer team takes a 15 hour bus ride throughout the night to Leland, Michigan.  The purpose for this long distance travel is so that our team can get the most out of training in the cooler temperatures, be stuck together and forced to bond, and play Notre Dame at the end of camp.  I am the first to admit that I absolutely hate the outdoors so you can only imagine my objection when the bus pulls up to the wilderness camp also known as The Leelanau School.  When we arrive and unload the bus we warn the first years about the three a day trainings and daily dips in the lake and also throw in the occasional lie just to make them nervous about the week ahead.  

The first day in Michigan consists of a light training in the afternoon to loosen our legs and get "the bus out of us" as Steve would say.  The next three days are packed with a tough training in the early morning followed by breakfast, another training, lunch, and then the final training before dinner.  Two of the three early trainings consist of a sand dune workout.  The first dune workout consists of short sprints up a steep incline and usually involves carrying a 6 pound medicine ball.  The second dune training involves a 450 foot vertical climb that can only be accomplished by walking in a zig-zag pattern to avoid serious exhaustion.  After we are over the hump of three-a-days we move into our phase of tapering until our game against Notre Dame.  While in Michigan, we also had some fun with team bonding by having a Minute to Win It challenge where we were separated into four teams and given challenges to complete from the television game show.  I am happy to say that my team, The Leelanettes, won the challenge and took home the prize of a bag of M&M's plus the pride of having completed meaningless tasks faster than our teammates. 

The best part of Michigan has to be the time spent with my teammates.  It is great to be together in an environment where we are all close to each other and have the opportunity to bond before the season starts.  We played intense games of ping-pong, watched episodes of Jersey Shore and Bachelor Pad, made up raps and beatboxes, played card games and read the popular summer book, The Help.  Even though going to Michigan may seem like a terrible idea, I can't imagine doing anything else for preseason with any other group of people.  My team is so amazing and fun that Michigan turns into a vacation rather than a training camp.  Being on this team makes it easy to come back for a sixth year and makes me want to stay for a seventh (don't worry- I won't be able to play a seventh year). I love this team and I can't wait for everyone to see the talent and potential we have this year.  We are stronger than ever and will not settle for anything less than a National Championship! I guess I saved the best year for last!

My first year at UVA.....

Molly Menchel, Alexandria Virginia, First Year

The saying "time flies when you are having fun" must be true because it is hard for me to believe that my first-year here at UVA will be over in another six or seven weeks!  Coming out of high school and committing to a D1 soccer program you hear from older kids how hard it is to balance school work and soccer but you really have no idea how challenging it is until you get here!  

Coming into summer school before our soccer season started gave me the chance to meet my new first-year teammates, ease into classes and, of course, start working out on the soccer field.  The rest of the team arrived shortly after and we were off to Michigan for pre-season.  It was all very new and exciting!  Actually the whole fall was exciting. Upon returning to campus from our Michigan trip we jumped right into the season with games and travel.  It was definitely exhausting, but so much fun!  I was so happy to be playing soccer for the University of Virginia. We had a good season, and it is always sad when a season comes to an end, but exams were coming up quickly so I had to get focused on finishing the academic year strong.

It really wasn't until winter break that I started to think ahead about what the spring season would be like.  I had heard from upperclassmen that if I thought the fall was tough, just wait until offseason training.  I was a little nervous coming back from break, not knowing what to expect.  Again, it's one of those things you can't imagine until you get here.  After the first week of lifting, doing circuits, running and only a little playing (due to NCAA rules) I finally realized what "off season" training was all about.  This is where you do all the hard work to get stronger and improve your game. Week after week it was the same hard work, pushing yourself to get better and stronger.  I don't think I have ever been pushed, or pushed myself, so hard.  Being tired and sore reached a whole new level!  Another difference about the off season is that we don't train or play with our fourth years.  We have lost six great players and teammates, so it is very different when we are together. We realize as a team, and individuals, we have to work extremely hard to improve and become an even better team than last year.  

After many, many weeks of off season/spring workouts we finally got to play some spring games.  We had two games last weekend and we have four more games ahead of us before summer break.  It felt great to finally get back out and play!  I guess all of that hard work is paying off because I do feel stronger out on the field.

As our fourth-years told us, at our annual end of season banquet, your four years at Virginia will fly by so it is important to enjoy every minute of it while you are here. So even when it is late, and I am tired and sore, and still have a lot of studying to do, I remember this and try to enjoy the moment because I realize how fortunate I am to be here at Virginia, playing the game I love, with such great coaches and teammates.

Making the Jump into UVA Athletics

Amber Fry, First Year, Northfield Illinois

The transition from high school to college is almost always a big jump for any athlete. Even for those who played for intense clubs or high school teams, college tends to take it to a much higher level. This would include fitness, talent, competition, and dedication. The biggest difference between high school/club soccer and playing for the University of Virginia is the commitment level and intensity. Not to say that I wasn't committed to my high school and club team, but college is more than just a team; it's a lifestyle. Everything revolves around training, games, and traveling. We have hard practices, fun practices, and some practices that leave your muscles so sore it's difficult to sit down. But we must appreciate the reward of getting extremely fit through this program, though. Soccer is the biggest part of my life in college. Soccer was a large part of my life before college, but now it has become my life. We live and breathe soccer. It's awesome. It takes a lot more effort to balance trainings, games, and traveling with keeping up my grades in school, but the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Athletes must learn to balance their priorities while maintaining a high level performance in their sport. Enjoying the ride with an amazing team makes it easier to handle. I love my teammates, my coaches, and this University in general. I have learned to embrace the challenges of all the work in soccer and school and realize how lucky I am to be playing for a team at a school as incredible as UVA.