Summer training is diverse and looks different depending on the player. From playing on a team, training alone or coming back from an injury, women’s soccer is putting in the work over summer.
Kylie Mahoney, red-shirt sophomore midfielder, plays for RKC Third Coast Women’s semi-pro team over the summer. RKC Third Coast plays teams from Chicago all the way up to Minnesota. For her, building her fitness is the most important part of training.
“The work I put in with my summer team as well as fitness on my own helps me prepare for preseason,” said Mahoney. “Fitness tests are a 20-meter Yo-Yo test and a 50 yd sprint test. When I play with my summer team as well as run the fitness test on my own, my fitness increases which prepares me to get better scores. Coming in with good fitness will also translate over to soccer which is most important.”
Being home for the summer and training on fields you grew up on can be bittersweet. For Mahoney, it’s rewarding.
“It brings back great memories and reminds me of all the hard work I have done to get where I am today,” said Mahoney.
Nostalgia aside, Mahoney is most excited to rejoin her team. “I am most excited to start playing soccer again with my best friends. Soccer season can get very demanding but with your teammates by your side, it’s a whole lot easier”
The same goes for junior defender Kya Trejo when it comes to being back with her teammates. “I’m looking forward to playing games and being back on the field with my teammates! The season always goes by so fast and once it’s over it leaves you itching for 90 more minutes on the field.”
Staying motivated over summer isn’t always easy. A lot of the training is done alone, however those playing for a team can retain some structure.
“One of the major challenges I run into when training over the summer is staying motivated all summer long,” Noted sophomore forward Alex Tetteh who is playing for River Light FC, a pre-professional soccer team in the USL W leauge. “It’s hard to stay disciplined with workouts and fitness all summer, especially when most of the time you are doing these things on your own. Joining a summer team has really helped with this because of the organized training and games we have every week. It’s easier to get conditioning in with organized training sessions and other people with the same goals to motivate you.”
The summer allows for one to focus on their individual goals, working hard to improve the little things to be the best for the team in the fall.
“I think the biggest benefit of summer training is really working on specific things that I was told to improve on after the spring and fall seasons last year,” sid Brooklyn Greene, sophomore midfielder at Eastern. “It gives you a chance to have more personal goals because you aren’t as focused on the entire team as a whole like in the fall.”
The Panthers will kick off their season with an exhibition match at the University of Illinois on August 5th. Their first home game will be on August 18th against Arkon at Lakeside Field.
Chloe Proffitt can be reached at 581-2812 or at cgproffitt@eiu.edu.