Spring Break
Column: The true offseason
Kevin Murphy / Sports Editor
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Sports
Ah yes.
Spring. The offseason.
The offseason is important.
It is important for athletes to take advantage of their training during the spring.
With the Eastern women's soccer team, there's a lot of work to be done.
There's the new head coach, Summer Perala, who is trying to assert a more goal-oriented offense
The Panthers finished 3-14-2, 3-4-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference and somehow reached the OVC Tournament.
The Panthers struggled to score goals. They only scored nine goals during the season. The opposition scored 33 goals.
But Perala has a definitive plan for attack and has identified the problems of the team's ability to attack the net.
"We're not very dynamic in our runs," Perala said. "There's no overlapping play."
But she knows the problems and now has plans to fix them.
This is a team that has a proud tradition of being at the top of the OVC.
The Panthers won four straight OVC Tournament Championships and went to the NCAA Tournament four straight times from 2001-2004.
In 2005, the Panthers lost in the OVC Tournament Championship. In 2006 and 2007, they only reached the OVC Tournament semifinals and then in 2008 did not reach the semifinals and lost in the first round.
Perala has the opportunity to take the players and have them compete and bring respect back to the program.
"They really wanted to get back to the top of the OVC," Perala said. "We want to make sure we're more competitive in practice."
She has noticed the competitive nature of the team.
"They're working to beat the next person," Perala said.
That's a good thing.
It is important for this team to be competitive during the offseason, otherwise it's going to be a disappointing season where they don't even make the OVC Tournament, which has never happened.
Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or at kjmurphy@eiu.edu.
Spring. The offseason.
The offseason is important.
It is important for athletes to take advantage of their training during the spring.
With the Eastern women's soccer team, there's a lot of work to be done.
There's the new head coach, Summer Perala, who is trying to assert a more goal-oriented offense
The Panthers finished 3-14-2, 3-4-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference and somehow reached the OVC Tournament.
The Panthers struggled to score goals. They only scored nine goals during the season. The opposition scored 33 goals.
But Perala has a definitive plan for attack and has identified the problems of the team's ability to attack the net.
"We're not very dynamic in our runs," Perala said. "There's no overlapping play."
But she knows the problems and now has plans to fix them.
This is a team that has a proud tradition of being at the top of the OVC.
The Panthers won four straight OVC Tournament Championships and went to the NCAA Tournament four straight times from 2001-2004.
In 2005, the Panthers lost in the OVC Tournament Championship. In 2006 and 2007, they only reached the OVC Tournament semifinals and then in 2008 did not reach the semifinals and lost in the first round.
Perala has the opportunity to take the players and have them compete and bring respect back to the program.
"They really wanted to get back to the top of the OVC," Perala said. "We want to make sure we're more competitive in practice."
She has noticed the competitive nature of the team.
"They're working to beat the next person," Perala said.
That's a good thing.
It is important for this team to be competitive during the offseason, otherwise it's going to be a disappointing season where they don't even make the OVC Tournament, which has never happened.
Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or at kjmurphy@eiu.edu.
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