Keeping Up With Troy Soccer

Relationships with Coaches

Having a good relationship with your coaches is vital. When you have a good relationship with your coaching staff you can go and talk to them about whatever may be on your mind. I think what a lot of people don’t realize is that coaches are a lot more than just coaches. Coaches are there to be your coaches not only for soccer but for life, they are almost like your “parents” away from home. They are there to guide you, help you and prepare you for challenges that you will have to deal with on the field and how you can adapt that to situations off the field. The best thing about having a strong relationship with your coaches is that you’re able to connect with them on a different level. By having such a positive and strong relationship with your coach it makes you excited to go to practice and games, and it gives you yet another person to play for. Being on a team you’re always playing for the girls next to you but being able to also play for your coaches as well who do so much for you, it really motivates you to work even harder. Another thing you must understand is that it’s not always going to be perfect.

Whether your coach isn’t given you playing time, or he/she yells at you, or there’s a disagreement during the game or practice, things are not always going to run smoothly. Sometimes the hardest relationship to keep, especially in college athletics, is with your coaches. College sports are never “fair”, and the hard truth is that with things not being fair this often causes a lot of turmoil between coaches and their players. This is what usually tries to break down those relationships but what’s key to remember is that there are always going to be obstacles and challenges that will try and intervene with any kind of relationship, but when it comes to the relationship with your coach as an athlete, you have to find ways to get over these barriers and obstacles and find a way to rekindle fragmented relationships. Not everything is always going to work out picture perfect but knowing how and why it’s important to keep and hold onto these relationships is essential to maintaining a happy and healthy bond with your coaches.

Traveling

Traveling for a college athlete entails a lot of preparation and detail. Getting ready to travel for a game whether it’s on a plane or on a bus, there is a lot involved. Just as soccer is a team sport, traveling is a team effort. Coach will send out an itinerary and schedule for everything that needs to be done before leaving for the trip and it all has to be done on time and the right way. Each player on the team has their own job and has to make sure that it’s done correctly because come travel day everything must be in order. When traveling as a team we have to look like a team. We can only wear Troy soccer apparel and we all must wear the same thing and if we don’t there will be consequences or punishments when we return. When we travel as a team, we have a very strict schedule. The night before we have to be in bed in our rooms by 11pm no later and must have our phones off before we go to bed. We always will have a morning run and stretch the morning of the game, followed by breakfast and then video on the team we are about to play that day. Video is one of the most important parts of our traveling trips. We will watch video about 4 times as a team and each player has their own individual portion of video to watch in order to prepare themselves for the game. By re-watching video, we are able to get a good grasp on who we’re about to play against and what we have to be prepared for against other teams. Our travel is packed with several meals and our nutrition is very important while we are traveling. Our coaches make sure that we are eating the necessary foods before and after our games. After a weekend away traveling, we usually have a debrief with our coaches on either how the game went, what we could have done better, what we did good and how we are going to improve for the next game. Traveling is very exciting and being able to travel new places is one of the best parts about playing a college sport and it truly provides great experiences and lasting memories.

Summer B

Summer for a college athlete looks very different than for a normal college student. For the Division 1 athletes in college that play a fall sport, they must come in the summer for Summer B. That means about a month after the school year ends, most athletes are already on their way back for summer workouts and training. This can be very difficult for several athletes that live in farther places from their university because it means being away from their families for an even longer extended period of time. Many people think the summer is a breeze and not as difficult because its “summer”, but summer workouts and training are just as difficult as in season training and sometimes, even harder. Your days are very much structured, and everything is planned out for you. Your workouts, lifts, trainings, and on top of that, you have your classes to attend. However, the good thing about taking classes in the summer is that you usually only take about two or three classes, so the workload isn’t that bad. Even though you go through a lot of work and it’s not ideal to be in class during the summer, the best part of coming in the summer is the bond you are able to create with your teammates.

Coming in for the summer usually means you’re not going to be seeing many of your non-sports friends because most of them are home for the summer, so this gives you the chance to get even closer to your teammates. The most important thing about being on a team with other people is not just being able to tolerate them but being able to see them as your extended family. Your teammates are going to be the ones who are going to be able to relate to you more than anyone and having them close to you is vital to creating and sustaining the best relationship possible. Summer gives you the opportunity to really develop better relationships with your teammates on and off the field, and gives you the time and chance to get even better in order to be prepared and ready for the up and coming season. All and all there’s ups and downs to summers as a college athlete, but it’s all to benefit you and your team to help you reach your goals.

Preparation in College Athletics

One thing a lot of people don’t see in college sports is the amount of preparation that goes into getting ready for a collegiate game. We start training for the season and games months in advance. There is no off season for college athletes and when it comes to preparing there is a lot involved. For pre-season, which usually takes place late summer, there is a two-week non-stop period of constant training. With about three sessions a day, each two hours from Monday to Saturday. There is not much time to do anything but sleep, and that’s all you’ll want to do after all of that training. A big part about being a college athlete is all about how fit you are. The fitness you endure as a college athlete is insane. You could be running sprints, miles, suicides, for what feels like forever, and if you don’t pass the tests, most of the times you won’t even be allowed to practice.

This is why coming in prepared is the best thing you can do for yourself before you return to school. While you’re at home it’s really easy to just relax and sit back, which is understandable, but you also need to make sure you are setting aside time to make sure you are getting yourself fit and prepared for the upcoming season. What you have to remember is that there are always going to be new people coming in every year who are going to try and take your spot. Nothing is guaranteed in college sports, not playing time, not a position, nothing. New recruits are there for the same reason you are, to play and to win, and if you let yourself fall behind, there will be someone there to take your place. All and all as a college athlete you just need to make sure you have your mind in the right place. The best way to be prepared not only for college sports, but for life, is to be mentally prepared. If you can get your mind in the right place, everything else will fall into place and you will be able to succeed in anything you do.

First Year as a College Athlete

Being a college athlete is a once in a lifetime experience, not everyone gets to say that they played a sport in college and it’s something really to be thankful for. However, being a college athlete can be very overwhelming especially when you first arrive to campus your freshman year. Not only are you in a new place with new people and learning what to do with all the freedom you now have, but, you’re now part of a team with a strict regime and schedule. College student-athletes are not regular college students. From getting up early to late night practices to long bus rides for away games, it gets very stressful very quickly. On top of making sure you stay on top of your sports schedule; you most importantly must stay on top of your schoolwork and that’s where things can really start to get difficult.

Even though there can be a lot of stressors, the great thing about being a college athlete is that there are always plenty of resources to help in times of need. From athletic tutors to counseling services to athletic advisors, there is always help when you need it. One of the greatest things about your freshman year as a college athlete on a team, is coming into the new school year with a whole circle of friends. College athletes, especially those who play a fall sport, must come in early in the summer before school starts and it’s a great way to bond and create friendships with your teammates. Most college freshman’s biggest fear is wondering how they are going to make friends and when you play a team sport in college, you never have to worry about that.

Another thing you must realize as a first year college athlete is that you are going to be tested both physically and mentally like never before. There is no offseason, just because the regular season might be over, everyday after that is just more and even harder training leading up to the upcoming season. But, what you must realize is that it’s all worth it. All the long nights, hard training sessions, early mornings, it all makes up for the incredible memories that are going to be made and with all the hard work you put in both on and off the field, you are really going to feel accomplished. It all pays off in the long run and is going to be something you are truly proud of.

Introduction

My name is Nathali Dasilva and I will be blogging about the Troy Women’s soccer team. Keeping Up With Troy Soccer will give the readers updates of Troy Women’s soccer schedule. This blog will be giving behind the scene actions of Troy women’s soccer team. I will be sharing the passion of the players for soccer and what it takes to be a division I soccer athlete. The reason why I chose to create this blog is to show the routine of the soccer team, how the team prepare for the season, and how they prepare their body off the field.

My First Blog Post

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

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