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.
