Charlotte Volleyball on day one of pre-season camp. |
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Thoughts from 2007 Volleyball Pre-Season Camp
Aug. 13, 2007
Charlotte, N.C. - We asked members of the 2007 Charlotte 49ers Volleyball Squad to update us on 2007 pre-season camp. The following are the diary entries by the player, with date and player listed below their thoughts. Enjoy!
Today was our last day of pre-season!!! We wrapped up two weeks of intense practice with a day of scrimmaging, which is always a LOT of fun. We all met in our team room and went over what our warm up on game day would be. Then we headed over to the practice gym and went through it. After that we began playing. We played three games to 30 and one last game to 15 points. During these different games coach set up different line ups and the team always performed well.
After the scrimmage was over, we headed down to the track for 49er New Year. Just like every year it felt like the hottest day EVER. We got to eat there and after that we were able to have some fun, catch up with old friends, and promote the upcoming season (GAME FRIDAY @ 7).
Tomorrow classes begin and we get the day off! =)
Go Niners!!!
--Alma Arroyo #2 (8/18)
(los quiero y extrano, Cristy)
Today was our last two-a-day! The day of practicing began after my first breakfast on meal plan at our residential dining hall. Practice consisted of a lot of defensive techniques, siding out drills, blocking, and having hitters connecting with the setters. The team chemistry is great. We all work really hard together and know how to keep each other up when in tough situations.
After the first practice, we did what we do best and got some lunch on campus. We had a recruit visiting so she came with us as well. After we stuffed our faces it was back to the locker room to prepare for our second practice of the day. The next practice had a lot of game-like situational drills and we also did "servers vs. passers" games to strengthen both serving and passing. We scrimmaged at the end of practice and worked on some different lineups to feel out where everyone is most comfortable. I know we're going to do great this season and I can't wait until our first tournament!
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Go Niners!!!
--Kara Raker (8/18)
Today was practice number thirteen for our 2007 season. After having our last two-a-day yesterday we started the practice with all smiles and lots of energy.
We started with one of coaches favorite drills called dig progression. We split into three groups and the coaches hit balls at us. This drill is to help us on our passing and transition for an outside or right side attack. We then spilt into two groups and worked on serve receive. Our passing is looking better and better every day, I'm excited to see all this work pay off in our first match.
After focusing on passing we then went into competitive play. Coach has started playing with different line-ups and everything he tries is looking great. With the different line-ups we really focused in our siding out. Both coaches played on one side, playing with/against them added to the fun. Everyone is improving a lot in just the week and a half that we have been in practice. We ended practice competing strong and executing hard. I'm really excited and ready to start kicking some butt when we start play in less than a week!
Once practice ended we then headed to weights. Today Darin, our strength trainer, was gone so Preston, the men's basketball trainer, worked with us. We knocked out back squats and bench press and then went through a killer ab workout with Preston. Were all working hard and I can't wait to see it all pay off!
Go Niners!!!
--Jenn Webb #11 (8/17)
Coach decided to give us a rest and recovery day from volleyball on Thursday, August 16th after all the hard work we had put in. He felt that some time off would do our minds and our bodies good and help us to come out even stronger on Friday for our last double day practice. Instead of practicing, the team met in the practice gym for a team building activity. We were given a task of getting each teammate across a grid of squares by discovering the hidden maze. The twist was that nobody could talk and we had an hour to complete our goal. After only a few mistakes and just 47 minutes, we all made it through the grid successfully. I think what made this activity so easy was that we are such a close knit team; we have a lot of trust in each other and always listen to what one another has to say. We were all really there for each other and helped each individual get through the maze. There wasn't one team leader that really stepped up; I felt like we all led in our own individual ways, which is also vital on the volleyball court. This activity reflected how connected we are not only on the volleyball court but also in other situations.
After the team building exercise, we all separated into 3 different groups to go pass out water and volleyball flyers at the on-campus move in sites. My group and I worked at a tent outside of Moore Hall. We posted volleyball posters throughout the dorm as well as outside and around it. We promoted our team and our first tournament next weekend and gave out our information card to everyone we could. Hopefully people remember us and spread the word about coming out to our home games.
That night we had our last pre-season team dinner at me, Priscilla, and Carly's apartment. We cooked some lasagna and hung out with everyone, even the coaches and trainer! We were all so thankful for the day of recovery and we were ready to come back and finish our pre-season strong and get the season going!
Go Niners!!!
--Kaitlin Knight (8/16)
Today was our seventh day of Practice for the 2007 volleyball season. After having more then 24 hours off to rest and recuperate, practice started, and the expectation level was high. One of our team goals for this year is to get better everyday we are in the gym and today was no exception.
Today's practice started off with some "nuts and bolts" work. Having two courts set up we split into two groups (setters and middles on one court and the lefts and rights on the other). This was time to work on the little things that needed to be touched on like timing for middles and setters and serve receive for the other girls. After the drill I could really see a great improvement in the connections between the middles and setters. I can't wait to see what we will be doing when it gets down to game time with this kind of foundation!!
After working on our serving and blocking, it was time to compete! For the last hour or so of practice was filled with games to 30. Just playing around with the line ups and seeing what was going to be some good looks for our team. The level of play was high and it was a lot of fun. Both sides where all out trying to win and that's when playing is the best. Everyone was looking like that had already improved from the last week of play and started implementing the new things we have learned (which is such a fun thing to be around). It really made me so excited to see us play and start kicking some butt in conference!!
Once practice was over it was time to eat and rest once again!
Go Niners!!!
--Courtney Cowles #5 (Hey mom and dad!) (8/15)
After almost a week of pre-season practice the team is still very energetic and excited about our first game on August 24th and are working hard every day to get better. Every day at practice we have a new goal. Today the 14th our goal was to get better and to focus on serve receive, defense, and transition offense.
Before practice we had our team breakfast at Prospector and then made our way to the practice gym for our 9:00 am practice. Throughout practice the team had great intensity in every drill and focused on our goal; to get better.
Practice went well and at noon we all had to hurry to get ready for our team pictures. It was very surprising to see the whole team in sun dresses and the coaches in suits. Pictures were a lot of fun.
At 5:00 pm the entire team helped our freshman Kara move into her dorm room. It took a lot of teamwork to get all of Kara's boxes up because both elevators in Moore Hall were closed. We all walked up 105 steps (Cori and I counted) carrying Kara's things. At the end of moving the heaviest bags and her refrigerator were left over, so each girl on the team stood on every floor and everyone took a bag and would walk it to the next floor were another teammate was waiting. That way we wouldn't collapse carrying those heavy bags all the way up. We all contributed to Kara's move in.
After a long days work we all went to Ham's to have our favorite time of the day, dinner! The day ended well and we are all ready to go for tomorrow's practice.
Go Niners!!!
--Carly Romberg (8/14)
I am really excited about the progress that everyone is making and our team unity is already excelling past where we were in the spring.
Most importantly, everyone is having a lot of fun and our team chemistry here now is better than it has been since I've been around, and that's through just eight practices.
We have a lot competitiveness. I like the competitiveness of our players and how everyone has worked hard to push everyone else to fight so far this year.
I think we've gotten farther with the new system since we also had the spring to work with Coach Redding. This is the team that does it this year. All signs point to this year with this team being very successful.
Go Niners!!!
--Cori Dayton (8/13)
Today was our first official day of pre-season for this year. We started the day by doing our pre-season testing, which included doing a running test called the gassers. It's a series of sprints, but the good news is that we all did really well. It felt really good to get those out of the way and start focusing on volleyball because I think we all agree that running causes a lot of nerves.
Then we had our first practice. I could really see how hard everyone worked over the summer because we picked right back up where we left off this spring. Our goal for our first practice was to get better and I think that we achieved it. The only bad thing about this morning was that yesterday, the air conditioning broke in the athletic buildings. This meant that the gym was scorching hot because it is about 100 degrees outside right now. It seemed we could never get away from the heat all day. I think it is going to make us tougher though because we have to be able to play in adverse conditions when we are on the road
We then got to rest a little and have a lunch break. We ate in prospector, which had a variety of really good food and we were all starving after our three hour session. It also helped that prospector had air conditioning so we got to finally cool off.
The last session of the day went really well also. I am already beginning to see the progress we have made and I am really looking forward to this season. I know we have the talent and the will to win the Atlantic 10 championship and I can't wait to see how the season plays out.
After we were done with the last session of volleyball, we had to take an ice bath to reduce soreness, which was extra cold today for some reason. I am pretty sure that all of our toes froze off and I know that it was a new experience for our freshman, Kara and Nicole. Nicole was shivering the whole time she was in there.
Then it was food time again, one of our team's favorite times. We ate at Ham's, a local restaurant which has the best macaroni and cheese. Our waitress even pointed out that we all finished our plates. It was a good ending to the day because we all got hang out and eat some good food. I look forward to getting a goodnight sleep tonight and to prepare for tomorrow.
Go Niners!!!
--Eden Ramos (8/9)
