The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Soccer used offseason to grow stronger in mind and body
08.26.2010 | Soccer
Aug. 26, 2010
Natalie England, TexasSports.com
AUSTIN, Texas -- In coach Chris Petrucelli's vocabulary, the game of soccer can be broken down into two words: commitment and discipline.
"You can't win without those two things," he explains.
And so the Texas Longhorns, who host UTSA in their home opener on Friday, used their offseason learning more about what exactly those words mean.
They learned discipline through a rigorous six-day-a-week fitness program designed by strength coach Angel Spassov. Stifling heat and humidity helped them learn more about commitment because, regardless of the temperature, the Longhorns showed up every day at 2:45 p.m. for their afternoon workouts.
"When you don't want to work out because it's 105, you still have to push yourself and do the work," Petrucelli says. "And that was big for us, because the summer is usually a hard time. You can send your players home in great shape, but as coaches, you can't work with them in May, June or July, so getting that work in during the spring was very important."
That's why more than half of this year's roster chose to stay in Austin and work together this summer. Every day was a physical assault of running and full-body strength workouts. The goal was lean muscle mass with particular attention paid to the lower body. Spassov designed leg workouts that helped the Longhorns build up enough power to work through lactic acid.
"And then it becomes a mental thing, because even if your legs are burning, you know you're strong enough to keep going," junior Kylie Doniak says.
With that, Doniak brings attention to Petrucelli's ultimate goal through this process -- to create a team unit that is strong in mind and body.
In a recent UT practice, Petrucelli designed a drill that focused on heading technique. One player would throw the ball toward another, who was kneeling with hands behind her back. In order to make strong contact, the kneeling player had to explode toward the ball, and that requires core strength, coordination and -- of course -- commitment.
"You have to commit to winning the ball," Petrucelli says. "It takes some courage. So, are you committed to go and get it?"
If anything, that became the refreshing reality to this summer's work ethic.
"Immediately, everyone bought in," senior Erica Campanelli says. "Once you're committed, you're confident. You're passionate. You refuse to lose, because you've put so much into it."
Because the Longhorns report in early August and have just a few weeks of training before the season begins, Petrucelli explains that it's imperative everyone reports in top condition. This year, the Longhorns achieved that -- everyone passed their fitness tests on the first attempt.
"That was just a huge accomplishment," Doniak says. "It's rough."
For this 2010 season, the Longhorns adopted a theme, "Start strong, finish stronger."
"It's just a short little reminder of how we really want to approach every day, everything that we do," Petrucelli says. "It's important for us to come out and be ready to go, and push through. That's certainly easier to do when everybody is fit."
