Men's Soccer Blog 8/25/10: Zack Claudio
August 17, 2010 08:26 AM | General
11:39 p.m.
Good evening WVU soccer fans,
On behalf of the WVU men’s soccer team, I would like to thank all of our fans that came out and supported the team in its final exhibition game against Robert Morris. Furthermore, we would like to thank you all for returning to the stands after security evacuated the stands due to a fire alarm at halftime. For those of you who were unable to make it to tonight’s game, I am sorry to tell you that you missed three beautiful goals.
Uzi Tayou scored the first goal off a cross from his brother Franck Tayou. Peabo Doue had an impressive strike from the top of the box to notch the second before sliding on his knees in celebration. Finally Eric Schoenle connected on a corner kick taken by Travis Pittman.
Overall the team was pleased with the result of the game, however there is always room for improvement. We are all looking forward to seeing our fans again on Sept. 3 when we take on No. 9 Monmouth in the opening game of the regular season. Please come out and fill the stands!
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Posted by Dan Hagey on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
7:45 p.m.
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| Dan Hagey |
Well, today was the second day of school. It feels so weird knowing that this is my last year of schooling ever. I also love all the classes that I am in, especially communications with Nick Claudio. Anyway, after class was over, I went home to get a quick bite to eat and head out to training. Today’s session was very light in order to keep our legs fresh for tomorrow night. We started with some passing drills with Coach Johnson and progressed to some crossing drills. We finished training with our defensive shape.
We then headed to the locker room to look at some film from the Michigan game this past weekend. Film is an essential tool for us to fix any problems that we had during the prior game. As coach says, history is the greatest teacher.
Tomorrow is our first game this season at home. Although it’s just an exhibition, we are very excited to play in front of our home crowd. I hope everyone makes it out to watch! The season is less than two weeks away and I cannot wait!
Let’s go Mountaineers!
Posted by Zack Claudio on Monday, August 23, 2010
11:34 p.m.
Good evening WVU soccer fans,
This evening we had practice in a torrential downpour. Now when I say torrential downpour, I mean that it rained so hard that I could not see 10 yards in front of me. It was sweet. We started practice again with a technical drill and then progressed to a possession game. The possession game related to the diamond midfield style that we play. We ended with a competitive shooting drill. Raymon Gaddis captained the winning team while Eric Schoenle captained the other team.
Following practice, the team had lift at 7 p.m. at the Puskar Center weight room. Today’s lift involved upper body and lower body exercises including: front squat, bench press, bicep curls, RDLs, and core. After lift, most of the guys headed home to shower and get some food.
With each practice the team is getting more and more excited to play in our final exhibition game and our first regular season home game at Dick Dlesk in front of our beloved fans. Coach LeBlanc ended practice with a sincere talk about how fortunate we are to have a large fan base here at WVU. We really appreciate all of your support and we look forward to seeing you this Wednesday night! Please come out and support the team!
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Posted by Zack Claudio on Sunday, August 22, 2010
9:39 p.m.
Hello WVU soccer fans!
Coach LeBlanc gave the team the morning session off so most of the guys caught up on some sleep before heading out to run errands. Most of the freshmen on the team went to the bookstore to get books for classes tomorrow and walked around the downtown part of campus to scout out the location of our classes. We are all worried that we are going to get lost.
We had practice at 4 p.m. today. The guys who started in the Michigan game had a recovery session during practice to rid their muscles of lactic acid. The session involved a 10-minute jog followed by dynamic stretching with large stretch bands. The rest of the team went through a normal practice so that we would not lose fitness or our touch. We started with a technical drill inside a 20x20 yard square and then progressed to possession with direction. We finished with a small-sided game before heading back to the locker room to shower and get some food.
Classes start tomorrow.
We are all looking forward to seeing our fans this Wednesday night when the team takes on Robert Morris in the final exhibition game of the preseason. Only one more week until the first regular season game against top ten ranked Monmouth.
Please come out and pack the stands for both games! Be sure to get on MSNsportsNET.com and check out highlights of our first exhibition game against Michigan.
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Posted by Dan Hagey on Saturday, August 21, 2010
7:45 p.m.
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| Dan Hagey |
Good evening Mountaineers. Today was another productive day for the soccer squad. We started off with a 9 a.m. wake-up call and had a very good buffet-style breakfast at the Marriott. The waffles are always a good choice to start your day off. After breakfast we had some down time to either sleep or watch television for a couple of hours.
When it was time, we gathered our stuff from the hotel room and headed to the bus for our match against Michigan. The weather was miserable the whole day. It was a cooler day but it rained constantly since the morning.
Michigan’s facility, I must say, is first class. They just had it done and I was very impressed with the stands and everything about it. The field was a little smaller than we are used to, but that wasn’t a big deal.
As for the game, we tied 0-0 but had plenty of chances to put the ball in the back of the net. Overall, I thought we played very well and looked good on our first day out. We have all the tools to be a top quality team, and once we get them to click together all at once, we can be a very dangerous side.
After the hard-fought 90 minutes, we showered and got on the bus to take another grueling 6 hour drive back to Morgantown. We watched the game on the bus and also some movies and, I played some more Words with Friends.
I hope all you Mountaineer fans come out Wednesday night to watch our last exhibition against Robert Morris at 7 p.m. It will be free to everybody so come see us in action before our season opener next Friday at Dick Dlesk.
Until next time, let’s go Mountaineers!
Posted by Dan Hagey on Friday, August 20, 2010
8:49 p.m.
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| Dan Hagey |
Happy Friday everybody! Today was a light day for us. This morning we got to sleep in an extra hour and we started training at 10 a.m. We were only out for about an hour or so, working on some possession drills and ended with offensive corner kicks. After practice, we had to take a quick shower and get an ice bath because we had to get on the bus to depart for Michigan.
On the trip, we watched Step Brothers and Head of State. Both were very funny movies in their own right. The trip overall took about six hours. It was very, very long. I had some quality Words with Friends sessions with people on the way, however, which made it shorter. Once we got to the hotel, we had a quick stretch with Luke Sage and headed to Olive Garden for dinner. As always, it was very tasty.
Once dinner was over, we headed back to the hotel and hung out with some of the guys and watched some TV until it was bedtime.
Tomorrow is our first exhibition against Michigan. We are hoping for a strong performance and, as always, to get a result. Can’t wait for September 3rd!
Let’s go Mountaineers!
Posted by Zack Claudio on Thursday, August 19, 2010
10:24 p.m.
Today started with breakfast an hour later at 8 a.m. Pool regeneration was in store for the team because we had a 90-minute scrimmage the previous night. Most of the guys jumped right into the freezing pool. Some guys did cannonballs and others dove into the water. Uzi was very hesitant to get in because he is not a fan of cold water. We share that same interest if you recall my dislike for cold whirlpools. Most of the guys wore shorts. Silva, however, decided to sport a black Speedo. Although the team reminded him that he was not in Brazil and he needed to wear shorts, Silva replied “You are just mad because I know what looks good.” We all just shook our heads.
The team then headed back to the locker room to get dressed for team pictures. After pictures, we all headed back to the soccer offices to pick up lunch. Most of the guys took their Panera Bread sandwiches home and caught a few hours of sleep.
Practice began at 4 p.m. We started practice with a fitness test to get accurate numbers for the Polar heart rate monitors that the team uses for practices, games, and lifts. I must say, it is pretty cool and we are very fortunate that we are using top of the line technology to track our progression in fitness and recovery time. We then moved into some technical drills, 5v2 possession, and finally shadow defending in preparation for the exhibition game on Saturday.
The evening ended with a tasty buffet at the Hilton Garden Inn. The team is coming together both on and off the field. Positive and “never back down” attitudes from our captains have rubbed off on everyone. The guys are excited to play. We look forward to seeing our beloved fans at Dick Dlesk this season!
Until next time,
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Posted by Dan Hagey on Wednesday, August 18, 2010
9:49 p.m.
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| Dan Hagey |
Today was another very productive day for men’s soccer. After our morning breakfast we took the field and had a light morning session. We started out with a technical square passing drill for about 20 minutes or so, and then we ended with defensive set pieces. It was good to recover our bodies from the past two days and especially since we had our intra-squad scrimmage in the afternoon session.
After the morning practice, we had another solid lift with Luke in the Shell Building. Lifting is always good for you, especially when you are feeling a bit sore in some areas. Everyone is getting stronger and that’s what we want. After the lift, we had yet another ice bath for ten minutes. It feels like an eternity when you first get in, but after a couple minutes you get used to it. We then had a nice lunch provided to us by Oliverio’s in the Jerry West Lounge. During lunch, I was busy beating Adam Mills and Eric Schoenle in Words with Friends, an iPhone game. They had no chance at all and still don’t, despite what they might say.
When lunch was over I went home and got a quick hour and a half nap to get ready for the scrimmage at Dick Dlesk. Let me just say, the new sod that was installed in the off-season looks spectacular. It could compete with some of the best facilities in the country. Our scrimmage for the most part went really well. There were some moments where it was beautiful to watch and others that we would wish to forget. When it was all said and done, the gold squad came away with a 3-0 victory.
Day three was once again very productive. We continue to grow and get better day by day. I cannot wait until our exhibition against Michigan and our home opener vs. No. 9 Monmouth. I hope the fans are as excited as we are!
As always, let’s go Mountaineers!
Posted by Zack Claudio on Tuesday, August 17, 2010
10:12 p.m.
Hello Mountaineer soccer fans all over…
Today was the second day of preseason training but unlike the first day of preseason, I was awake and walking to the practice field at 6:30 a.m. with my roommate, Yannick (Iwunze), to pick up the team's laundry as part of our freshman duties. After a satisfying breakfast of bagels, yogurt and breakfast bars, a few of the guys headed into the locker room to relax and listen to music while others walked to the training room to receive treatment from our top-notch athletic training staff.
Practice began at 9 a.m. Our team’s strength and conditioning coach, Luke Sage, led the team in a warm up to loosen up our sore muscles and to get the team mentally focused for the session. After the warm up, coach LeBlanc called the team over to meet a very special person to the soccer program and to WVU. That special person was none other than Athletic Director, Oliver Luck! After some encouraging words from our supportive Athletic Director, the team was back to work. We started out with some technical drills to get our feet moving and our mind thinking and then we progressed into a 5v2 possession game. We finished up practice with a small-sided game.
After practice, I experienced my first cold whirlpool. I have never been that cold ...
The team then headed over to Oliverio’s Market Place for a tasty lunch before our meeting with the team’s sports psychologist, Damien Clement. During the meeting, we learned about the importance of the mental aspect of the beautiful game. Following the meeting, the team headed back to the practice field for our second session of the day. Five minutes into practice, coach LeBlanc called the team over to meet Associate Athletic Director, Terri Howes. Mrs. Howes is a committed fan and we thank her for attending our games! The evening session was very competitive and some brilliant things happened on the pitch in both small-sided games and shooting drills. After practice, the team headed back to the training room for our second cold whirlpool of the day. Sweet.
The day ended with a team dinner at Texas Roadhouse. The best part about dinner was watching the waiters and waitresses celebrate student manager Declan Coll’s birthday by making him ride a horse saddle in the middle of the restaurant.
Overall, the second day was a success. The team is working hard and excited for the start of the season and for our first exhibition game later in the week. As always the team greatly appreciates all of our fans and we look forward to seeing you at the games!
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Posted by Dan Hagey on Monday, August 16, 2010
10:06 p.m.
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| Dan Hagey |
Today was the first official day of training. The day started off with my roommate, Connor Gorman, waking me up at 7:10 a.m. to get ready and go to the locker room for breakfast before our 9 a.m. session. It consisted of bagels, yogurt and various Nature Valley bars. After breakfast, we had about an hour or so before training to just hang out in the locker room or go to the training room to get treatment or our ankles taped.
After much anticipation, it was finally time to get the 2010 season started off. I couldn’t think of a better way to start out the campaign other than a first-class warm-up by our strength coach, Luke Sage. The first training exercise we had to do is a fitness test, simply called the beep test. For those of you who don’t know, the beep test is when you run a 20-meter shuttle, wait for a beep, and then run back. It gets progressively faster as time goes on. It’s a blast and I suggest everyone to go out and do it. After fitness, we split into a couple of groups and did some technical passing drills and ended with some technical shooting. Everyone knew when Julio (Arjona) scored because he would scream “Let’s go!” and raise his arms with his Spain wristband.
Next on the agenda was a lifting session with Luke. Cramming so many people in the Shell weight room wasn’t easy, but we managed and had a very nice, but strong lift. After lift we got our Chick-fil-A and headed home for a couple hours until our session at 4 p.m. The evening training was more intense than the morning. We did some small possession drills to start then went on to 2v2 game and ended with king of the hill. For the first day, it was very productive and I feel that everyone is on the same page. We also started to implement the style that we want to play, which is important considering our first exhibition is only five days away.
After our practice, we had a team dinner at Damon’s. The food was there right as we entered which is always a good sign.
Overall, it was a very good first day and I am really looking forward to start the season. Uwem (Etuk), here is your shoutout.
Let’s go Mountaineers!
