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Behind the Scenes with Women's Soccer
March 15, 2013 | Women's Soccer
March 15, 2013
Throughout the spring semester, GoCards.com will provide weekly updates on the Louisville women's soccer program in the "Behind the Scenes" blog. For the month of March, Megan Berberich gives a glimpse into the world of the Cardinals.
HELLO FROM SPRING BREAK...by Megan Berberich
This week, as you know, we are enjoying spring break from various places across the country, as well as in Panama and Canada. However, it is nearing its end and we will soon be back at school and back to practice. We will have one short week until our first spring game on March 23, at Ohio State at 2 p.m. That is our only road game this spring...the rest will be at Cardinal Park -- convenient for all of our local fans to come watch! The spring schedule is out, but for those of you who haven't had the chance to check it out, here it is:
Saturday, March 23 - at Ohio State - Columbus, Ohio - 2 p.m. ET
Sunday, April 7 - vs. Ole Miss - Cardinal Park - 1 p.m. ET
Friday, April 12 - vs. Indiana - Cardinal Park - 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, April 14 - vs. Cincinnati - Cardinal Park - Noon ET
Friday, April 19 - vs. Bellarmine - Cardinal Park - 6 p.m. ET
This week, besides reminding everyone of our spring schedule, I'm going to tell you a bit about our spring season as a whole. Spring is quite different than the fall in several aspects. Obviously, it is our "off" season, however, this term isn't exactly appropriate. Spring does have a limited amount of games, and at the start of the spring, we have a limited number of hours we can train as a team, but this does not mean it is a time to take off. Actually, it is quite the opposite. Spring is the time in which we prepare both physically and mentally for the upcoming fall season.
As I mentioned, at the beginning of the spring we are limited in our hours. We can only work out as a team a total of eight hours, and only two of those hours can be soccer. The other hours are limited to things such as conditioning and lifting. As Nicole Gerber mentioned in her earlier blogs, our field hockey competitions took place during this time frame.
Now, we have entered the part of spring in which we can train 20 hours, and we do not have limits on the number of hours that we can play soccer. This time period is really a time to continue to work on fitness, and to address the technical and tactical aspects of the game that need worked on. All of our coaches obviously play an integral role in guiding the team in the right direction, but it is up to us to maintain the focus on our tasks and what we are being coached in and to continue to have a high work rate at practice every day in order to become the most prepared as possible for the fall season.
During this time, we also continue to lift and do conditioning with Heather Engel, our strength and conditioning coach. We generally lift three days a week after our practices, Friday usually being "Sled Day" at the Trager Center (the indoor facility next to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium). Sled Day consists of pulling and pushing sleds with weights and a teammate sitting on them - talk about pulling your weight!
This year, spring is a little different for the returning upperclassmen in that we have some changes in coaching staff. Andrew Quinn is our new assistant coach, and he just started working with us at the beginning of the 20-hour period. Also, a volunteer assistant, Sandy Davison, is going to be working with us this spring. We are lucky to have such a dedicated and focused staff. Speaking for the team, it is fair to say that we are excited about Andrew as our new assistant coach, and look forward to getting to know and learn from Sandy as our volunteer coach.
Thanks for tuning in this week. Don't forget to cheer on the men's basketball team as they compete in the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden this weekend! Don't forget to check in next week for the latest update on your UofL women's soccer team. Until then, GO CARDS!
