.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Jen Avila Continues Summer Journal
July 21, 2006 | Women's Soccer
July 21, 2006
Over the course of the summer weeks, members of the University of Louisville women's soccer team will be making entries into a summer journal, keeping the fans up-to-date on what they are up to as they prepare for the 2006 season. Our next installment features Jen Avila, a junior midfielder from Naperville, Illinois:
Hello All You Cardinal Fans!
I hope everyone's summer is treating them nicely! Mine has been wonderful so far spending it at home and so close to Chicago. It's always a blast anytime I get the chance to spend the day in the city. Anyway, I have been busy spending time with family and friends. I have also been taking care of my bamboo plants because I know they may not stand a chance to live once I get back to school since someone likes to kill them...Monique. I also have been spending tons of time at the gym and working! This thing called a j-o-b has really taken center stage this summer. I am a manager for a catering company here in town and it has given me a lot of business experience. The hours can be a bit long but I really enjoy the job because each event is different. I have also been playing on an U23 team for the summer. The team has a good group of girls and the team is great to play on and to stay in shape.
I recently took a trip back down to Louisville to help coach the high school camp. It was great to be back down at school to see everyone who was there. The days were quite packed with working out at 6:30 a.m. and then spending the rest of the day coaching, eating, listening to speakers, eating, practicing and eating. It was my first time coaching a camp at school and I had a great time. I had a very hard working group of kids and I do have to mention my team did win the tournament! It was very amusing to notice how energetic the girls were at the beginning of camp versus the end of the week. Heather Engel and I were roommates for the week and we made sure each one of those campers were in bed by lights out!
As summer winds down, I am marking the days off till preseason! I cannot wait for this season to get underway. Each year we as a team get better and it's so exciting where this team will go this season. Last year was our first year in the Big East and we did fantastic, but as a team we want more. We have gotten a taste of what it will take to get to the next step and we have the determination to get it done this year. I believe this season we have a great blend of leadership and experience from our returnees with a new hunger from our incoming class that will help mold our team. As a returnee, I look forward to the new players and know they will fit right in. Yet as a junior, I am also looking forward to sending our senior class off with a bang. They always say you are closest to the class above you and I can't think of a better way to thank them for their hard work over the years than to do something no team has done - obtain a NCAA bid. Come out to one of our games this season and be a part of an exciting journey towards the NCAA.
