By Caleigh Ryan
Hey all!
It's finally August, which means Wildcat Volleyball is BACK. The team is so excited to get to work training for our competitive 2016 season. We are blessed to have the opportunity to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. during the next week. It will be an unbelievable chance to play volleyball where the best-of-the-best compete and will also allow the team to grow closer as a family.
Some of the team has already had the chance to play at the OTC, when visiting for the national team tryouts. Kayla Morin, Caroline Niedospial, and I were fortunate enough to spot Michael Phelps when we were there a couple years ago! He was scarfing down food in the dining hall. The OTC workers told us not to bother or talk to him, but we tried anyway….it didn't go too well. This trip will be even more memorable, as we will have the chance to cheer on Team USA while they are competing in Rio! It will be fun to watch the Olympics with the team all together in the location where these amazing athletes compete and train all year long.
Symone Abbott and Maddie Slater are looking forward to searching for the giant chessboard that they played on during their most recent trip. Last year, they played chess on this board outside of the training facility for so long that they were featured on the USA Volleyball snapchat story! I think it was their re-enactment of the last scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone that truly secured their fame.
We got our schedule for pre-season last Wednesday and there is A LOT of volleyball to be played. This trip is something extraordinary that our coaches have put together for us. All of our coaches have ties to USA volleyball and have given us the chance to train where the USA team trains, a truly unique experience that not every NCAA Division I volleyball program gets. We are thankful for such great coaches that have arranged a challenging pre-season trip where we will not only grow on the volleyball court but also as teammates.
These practices will be the first time that the team gets to play with our four new awesome freshmen. Summer workouts consisted of the returning players organizing open gyms, lifts and runs. Now we finally will get to be together as one big team! Being in Colorado Springs will mean that the team is together literally 24/7. When we aren't practicing, we will be eating, hanging out and relaxing as one team.
The coaches have even found a couple of hours where we aren't playing volleyball to organize a hike for the team. The Garden of the Gods hike looks like it will be filled with breath-taking views and amazing sites! We will have to wait until Friday for that to happen - if the team can even still walk by then.
In all, this trip will allow us to focus on volleyball, and only volleyball. The program is moving forward toward success and our #ONEGOAL with this preseason. We can't wait for the journey to begin, and we can't wait to share it with you! Join us on social media all week long by following @NUVball on Twitter and Instagram and liking Northwestern Volleyball on Facebook to see our adventure to the Olympic training center.
As always, Go Cats!