Men's Soccer: Pitch Points
August 18, 2009 04:13 PM | General
August 18, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Even for the most seasoned players, fall training camp is one of the toughest parts of the season. The weather is hot and it’s time to whip the body back into shape after summer vacation.
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| Midfielder Gift Maworere is ready to make his senior season a memorable one.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Midfielder Gift Maworere is beginning his fourth preseason camp, and even though he’s become accustomed to the high temperatures and the strenuous workouts, he’s anxious to get back on the pitch and compete.
“It feels good to get back,” Maworere said after Monday’s practice. “Everyone looks fit and we have good players. It’s really interesting to watch everyone play. It was an exciting first day.”
As one of only three seniors on this year’s squad, the Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, native will be counted on to be a role model and leader on a team stacked with freshmen – 10 to be exact. And reflecting back on the 2008 season, Maworere displayed tremendous leadership from the first whistle to the final one.
This season, he understands that he also needs to focus on developing individually if he’s to reach his goal of playing professional soccer. Although the talent is there, the two-time all-BIG EAST selection still wants to buckle down and concentrate on nothing but school and academics in the fall.
Even in the team’s first meeting of the year, Maworere spoke up and told the coaches that he, Jason Bristol and Ryan Gillespie, the other two seniors, wanted to have a players-only meeting.
“Everything is going to be critical for me – fitness, training with the ball,” Maworere stated. “I have to come out focused everyday. I cannot have a day off. This is my last time going around, so I’m just going to give it my all on and off the field, in training, weight lifting, running and everything else. I just have to lay it out there and know in my heart that I did my best.”
On Monday, the team ended practice with an intrasquad scrimmage. While the team’s Achilles heel in 2008 was offense, partly because of injuries, there appeared to be a complete 180-degree transformation – one that Maworere noticed right away.
“Even in training right now, we just popped out about three to four goals,” Maworere, who scored one of the goals, said. "It’s fantastic, just having the offensive-minded players here. I don’t remember Zach (Johnson) having to make a save. We kept the ball well as a team and we’re on the same page when we attack. Our attacks are meaningful and we’re actually going somewhere. It’s fun to play and we have a great group of guys. You can already tell. They want to win, score goals and have fun.”
Although coach Marlon LeBlanc, the rest of the coaching staff and the entire support staff continue to push this team in camp, Maworere knows it’s for the best. His senior season is here and he’s ready to make it a memorable one.
This is the first in a series of weekly installments of Pitch Points that will appear on MSNsportsNET.com, each Tuesday throughout the season.
