Ball Boy

Earlier in the week a future Hornet ball boy, Owen Passage made an appearance at practice. He found something that he really liked (a bag of soccer balls) and apparently was none to happy when he had to leave. Don't worry Owen, it's a pretty good bet that you will probably make it out to the soccer field a couple more times this Fall. For those that don't know, Owen is the son of of Rob and Laura Passage. Laura coached the Hornets from 2005-07 before handing over the reigns to Coach Goyings. Rob is the Men's Basketball Coach here at the college as well. That is just one of his many titles in the the athletic department as he also does an outstanding job helping Coach Goyings keep a healthy perspective on all things coaching while also helping to manage the athletic facilities here on campus and at times serving as a chauffeur for the soccer team.

Friday, yes, more rain washed out the morning session and the scrimmage planned for the day was also canceled as the Kalamazoo Soccer Complex was closed for purposes of field preservation. So this morning everyone had the opportunity to get a little bit more sleep. The juggling delinquents were asked to head over to the gym to put in some time trying to reach their goal. Without a place to scrimmage this afternoon the team headed across town to a local indoor soccer facility. In the tighter space of the indoor field the team worked on a number of different types of combination, including the, don't trip over yourself back heel. The session ended with a 4v4 transition game and a touch of fitness. Rain may have dampened the ground but spirits remain high. The first official contest is quickly approaching. Just one week away!

Rain Rain Go Away!

Braving the elements on seems to be the theme of this preseason. Thursday morning the team got a thorough rinsing, several times. The training session was about transition as much as it was splashing through puddles. Despite the challenges provided by the soggy surface the Hornets put in a lot of work finding targets and moving from end to end. The morning ended with a little bit of fitness and then lots of drying out. Thursday afternoon was still overcast but the team only had to deal with a couple of sprinkles. Attackers worked with Coach Goyings on perfecting their finishing in and around the box. Meanwhile Coach Carlson did some small technical work with the GK's and Coach Wells and the defense worked on shape. The last part of practice consisted of a 9v9 scrimmage to goal, with several quality finishes from the forwards and midfielders. There is still plenty of work to be done but it appears that the Hornets are beginning to make some progress.

A Wet One For Sure

This morning the Hornets braved the elements to work on playing balls over distance. Lots and lots of reps. A strong barrage of showers throughout the morning session did a good job soaking the field and players. It was quite an introduction to the squad's new players from outside the Midwest about how the weather works in Michigan.

The 2009 Kalamazoo College Women's Soccer team was announced this afternoon. Check out the roster. 2009 Hornet Roster (It should be posted shortly). The 2009 version of the Hornets consist of 23 total players. 20 who originate from Michigan with 3 coming to Kalamazoo from out of state. Broken down by class there are 3 seniors, 4 juniors, 4 sophomores, and 12 first year students. A good mix of experience and youth should make for a very exciting 2009. Be sure to buckle up and hold on tight. Don't ask us about positions yet, that is still a work in progress.

After the team had a chance to dry out it was back to the water, however this time it was by decision. The team's Goalkeeping Coach, Erin Carlson, had the privilege to led the team through it's first official practice as a unit, at the pool. Erin works as an aquatics instructor at the Borgess Health Center here in Kalamazoo and is also certified as a life guard. Under her direction the Hornets worked in the water for about 75 minutes performing various excercises to maintain their cardio base without pounding the legs too much. The rest of the coaching staff will be sure to make up for that over the next couple of days. Thanks Coach Carlson!

Ice Ice Baby!

A two-a-day tradition. 3 Hornets in an ice bath and 3 more waiting to jump in. A great way to halt the lactic acid in it's place before it slows the players down too much. Tuesday's morning session focused on 1v1 defending and some fitness followed by a team defending session where the team broke up into two groups and came together to play 9v9 at the end. A lot of coaching took place from the coaches as well as the players. Overall the team is beginning to take shape but there is still an enormous amount of work to get done. The ice bath, (is that an ice bath or a kiddie pool?) should get a plenty of use over the next couple of days.

The Sun Sets on Day 2

As the Sun sets on Day 2, a short summary

8:00-10:30am Fitness Test, Followed by Technical Work and Small Sided Games

3:00-5:00pm Full-Sided Scrimmage followed by core work

The day began with the ever popular beep test and was followed up with a little bit of technical work before playing some small sided games. This afternoon the team broke up into two teams for an inter squad scrimmage. Most players played in a number of different spots as the coaches continued to evaluate and identify players for various positions on the field. A large number of strong scores with regard to the fitness tests from both the returning and incoming players reflects some hard work put in by the team throughout the summer. After spending most the day evaluating the coaching staff is now hard at work planning practices for tomorrow and the rest of the week. It will be their turn to show the team if they made themselves better over the summer.

WELCOME TO K!

As of 12:30 this afternoon all of the returning players and incoming freshmen have reported to 1200 Academy St. GO HORNETS!!!