Greyhounds Go Gladiator!

     It’s official: We finally feel like soccer players again. The inescapable turf pellets are back in our clothes and cleats, the bruises are back on our Barrick-strong legs, and the wonderful stench of sweaty shin guards is back in the locker room. It can only mean one thing¾we’re back! Playing soccer! Last week, we busted out the soccer balls for the long-awaited first spring practice. After weeks of only weights and conditioning, we were all just itching to get our feet on some soccer balls. When we finally put the pennies on to end practice with some 8v8, we were so happy to finally just be playing the sport we all love with the teammates we love. And let’s be honest¾ it was a nice change of pace to see our teammates at a time other than 6:45am, because we’re all a lot cheerier when the sun is out.
     Our energy and excitement from that first practice has carried over into our other practices, morning lifts, and conditionings. We’re just all a lot happier now that we are actually playing soccer together, and this happiness has translated into a lot of hard work. We’ve been maxing in the weight room (and preparing to go up a jean size from squats) and working on our speed, agility, and endurance in the dome (spring break bodies, anyone?). It’s been amazing to see us all pick each other up during these early morning workouts and hold each other accountable. We haven’t forgot our favored adage: “Teamwork makes the dream work!”
     To reward our hard work, Coach Reese planned a fun but challenging day of competition-style conditioning for us on Thursday. If you have been around our team, then you probably know we LOVE a bit of friendly competition. So even at 6:45am, we were bright-eyed and ready to compete. After breaking up into three teams, we did some classic sprint relays, relays carrying the medicine ball over our heads or in our arms, and sled-pushing relays. But the real treat was when Coach Reese dragged out the rope. Tug-of-War, we thought. Nope, it was something ever better: GLADIATOR-STYLE FIGHTING! We circled the rope to form a fight ring, and Coach Reese put us up against each other in a “friendly” warrior tournament. Using giant pads as our buffers, we all fought for bragging rights, each trying to push our opponent out of the ring. It was a real-life “Who let the dogs out” moment. We all agreed that it was the best conditioning session ever, of all time. Check out the video slideshow of pictures below!

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