Since the beginning of this year, both the Lady Colonels soccer and volleyball teams have been enduring a rigorous off-season training schedule in preparation for the upcoming season. The Lady Colonels soccer team is attempting to improve in the offseason and hoping to rebound in the fall after finishing 4-15-1 overall and 1-7 in the Southland Conference in 2006.
Head soccer coach Cindy Piper said the primary focus during off-season training has been to improve players’ speed and strength.
“Since the start of the semester, the team has been in the weight room working on getting stronger and faster which were two areas the team needed to improve in,” Piper said. “We started spring practice at the end of February and concentrated on improving ball work and speed of play.”
As part of the off-season training program, the Lady Colonels participated in various spring scrimmages in order to improve in weak areas.
The team traveled to Starkville March 24 to play a scrimmage game against Mississippi State University, which they lost 8-0.
“We didn’t win, but we were able to see many things that we improved on and further areas in which we need to improve in,” Piper said. “The girls showed a lot of intensity and effort on the field and the movement was much better than in the fall.”
Eight days later, the team traveled to Lafayette and competed in the annual Seven a Side tournament hosted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Nicholls showed great improvement and made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament knocking off University of Louisiana at Monroe and William Carey University.
“We played extremely well in the tournament and it was a good way to wrap up spring drills,” Piper said.
The Lady Colonels picked up four recruits in February that Piper said will improve the defense of the team, which has been lacking in recent years.
“Defense was one area in which we had to improve in. We filled some positions and hopefully we will have some success,” Piper said.
Nicholls will kick off the fall season with an exhibition game August 24 with a re-match against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Colonels volleyball team has also been working hard in the offseason to make improvements for the upcoming fall season.
Head volleyball coach Chris Laird said off-season training is a sequence of training that builds first on the individual athlete and then focuses on team dynamics.
“We treat the offseason as a prolonged pre-season. At first, we work on individual skills and have more of an opportunity to break things down and work on fine motor skills as opposed to team dynamics,” Laird said. “As the off-season progresses, we focus on team strategies.”
Conditioning is an important factor in the off-season for the Lady Colonels volleyball team. During the offseason, the Lady Colonels work out five days a week as opposed to working out two days a week in the regular season.
The Lady Colonels finished the 2006 season 9-22 overall and 3-13 in SLC play. Laird said he thinks the team will be successful in the upcoming season because the players have shown improvement and the team has many players returning.
“We have a great group of kids coming back. We have eight players returning and five new players coming in so we are excited,” Laird said. “This season we will be more balanced and educated about decisions we make on the court, and I think we will succeed.
