University of Georgia Athletics
A Good Day To Work
August 07, 2018 | Soccer, Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Some practices look like work, others look more like fun and games — the best practices find a balance between the two. Or in the case of Georgia's volleyball and women's soccer teams Monday, some of each.
The volleyball team opened preseason practice Monday with a pair of sessions, one in the morning that lasted three hours and was slow and instructional, and the second a 90-minute practice that was about 95 percent just playing points rapid fire.
The soccer team, which began practice last week, went through a tough, physically and mentally demanding morning practice before coming back in the late afternoon and doing some necessary work, but fun work. They worked on set pieces, coming up with plays for corner kicks and free kicks.
Fourth-year soccer coach Billy Lesesne said the coaches let the players come up with their own set pieces.
"That was so cool, we've never done that before," said Sydney Shultis, a senior midfielder.
Lesesne said the coaches "are trying to empower the players a little bit," and letting them design some plays prior to Thursday's exhibition game at Duke was part of that.
It wasn't exactly Steve Kerr letting his Golden State Warriors players run things during timeouts in a game against the Dallas Mavericks last season, but whether you're a college soccer program a week into preseason practice or an NBA dynasty in the making, everything is better when the players are fully engaged.
There was also a practical side to it, Lesesne said. Georgia will have to post the video of its exhibition game so that all the teams in the SEC can see it, as every league team will have to, and Lesesne doesn't want to give away any set pieces that the Bulldogs will likely use in games. Then again, one of the players may come up with the greatest corner kick set piece ever.
For second-year volleyball coach Tom Black, he returns most of last year's squad that won 22 games and went 10-8 in the SEC, after winning one total conference match the previous two seasons. Everything was new at this point a year ago, but now the returning Bulldogs know the system and know the coaches, and have seen what kind of results they can achieve.
"I feel like a lot of the questions that I would ask last year and get a pause on the court, they almost feel a little more rhetorical now — I know that they're going to know the answer," Black said.
It's a talented, confident squad that approaches each practice as its coach does, with the simple belief that each session is a chance to get better.
"Tom talked at the end of practice about stacking good days on good days, so we just had a good day and now our goal is to focus on tomorrow and stacking another good day," said junior setter Meghan Donovan.
"There are going to be frustrating days but that's part of the process when you want to be better at something," sophomore T'ara Ceasar said. "It's the difference between feeling like you have to be good at something and wanting to be good at something. I think a lot of the girls right now, our entire team, has that mindset of, we want to get better. I love that culture and that's why I'm glad to be here."
Ceasar certainly made her presence felt last season, earning All-SEC honors as a freshman and leading all collegiate freshman with 4.79 points per set. The outside hitter also spent part of her summer playing in China on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team.
"It was just a really humbling experience, playing with that level of girls," Ceasar said.
Black isn't a coach that thinks or talks much about goals, only keeping "your sights on today." An example of that, he said, was Ceasar's stellar play for Georgia last season and then earning the chance to play for the collegiate national team.
"If I had told T a year ago that in your freshman year you were going to lead all freshmen in points per set and then you were going to go play for the college national team, she never would have believed that," Black said. "She's uber-driven every day and she's a great example of, 'How good can I get today?'"
The soccer team is coming off a four-win season, but the Bulldogs will have a very different look in 2018. Thirteen new players are on the roster — 11 freshmen and two fifth-year transfers — and a total of 22 players are either freshmen or sophomores. All those youngsters, along with the small group of upperclassmen, showed their head coach something with how they handled that tough practice Monday morning.
There were long stretches of 11 versus 10 and a lot of drills and running. It was the kind of practice that good teams find a way to grind through and come out of it better for the experience, both physically and mentally.
"I told them after that practice, 'It's not always perfect, but playing 11 v. 10, today you guys were grinding more than at any point since our coaching staff has been here,'" Lesesne said. "They really stepped up to the task, communicated well with each other and just found a way to grind it out. It was good to see and I hope that preps us for (Duke). They really pushed each other hard today and that's going to give you growth."
The soccer team will play a Red & Black scrimmage at the UGA Soccer Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. Georgia opens its season on Aug. 17 against Georgetown, at the Virginia Tech Tournament in Blacksburg, Va.
Volleyball opens its season on Aug. 24 (7 p.m.) against Coastal Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum. On Aug. 18, the squad will host its annual alumni match at 11 a.m. at Stegeman.
Staff Writer
Some practices look like work, others look more like fun and games — the best practices find a balance between the two. Or in the case of Georgia's volleyball and women's soccer teams Monday, some of each.
The volleyball team opened preseason practice Monday with a pair of sessions, one in the morning that lasted three hours and was slow and instructional, and the second a 90-minute practice that was about 95 percent just playing points rapid fire.
The soccer team, which began practice last week, went through a tough, physically and mentally demanding morning practice before coming back in the late afternoon and doing some necessary work, but fun work. They worked on set pieces, coming up with plays for corner kicks and free kicks.
Fourth-year soccer coach Billy Lesesne said the coaches let the players come up with their own set pieces.
"That was so cool, we've never done that before," said Sydney Shultis, a senior midfielder.
Lesesne said the coaches "are trying to empower the players a little bit," and letting them design some plays prior to Thursday's exhibition game at Duke was part of that.
It wasn't exactly Steve Kerr letting his Golden State Warriors players run things during timeouts in a game against the Dallas Mavericks last season, but whether you're a college soccer program a week into preseason practice or an NBA dynasty in the making, everything is better when the players are fully engaged.
There was also a practical side to it, Lesesne said. Georgia will have to post the video of its exhibition game so that all the teams in the SEC can see it, as every league team will have to, and Lesesne doesn't want to give away any set pieces that the Bulldogs will likely use in games. Then again, one of the players may come up with the greatest corner kick set piece ever.
For second-year volleyball coach Tom Black, he returns most of last year's squad that won 22 games and went 10-8 in the SEC, after winning one total conference match the previous two seasons. Everything was new at this point a year ago, but now the returning Bulldogs know the system and know the coaches, and have seen what kind of results they can achieve.
"I feel like a lot of the questions that I would ask last year and get a pause on the court, they almost feel a little more rhetorical now — I know that they're going to know the answer," Black said.
It's a talented, confident squad that approaches each practice as its coach does, with the simple belief that each session is a chance to get better.
"Tom talked at the end of practice about stacking good days on good days, so we just had a good day and now our goal is to focus on tomorrow and stacking another good day," said junior setter Meghan Donovan.
"There are going to be frustrating days but that's part of the process when you want to be better at something," sophomore T'ara Ceasar said. "It's the difference between feeling like you have to be good at something and wanting to be good at something. I think a lot of the girls right now, our entire team, has that mindset of, we want to get better. I love that culture and that's why I'm glad to be here."
Ceasar certainly made her presence felt last season, earning All-SEC honors as a freshman and leading all collegiate freshman with 4.79 points per set. The outside hitter also spent part of her summer playing in China on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team.
"It was just a really humbling experience, playing with that level of girls," Ceasar said.
Black isn't a coach that thinks or talks much about goals, only keeping "your sights on today." An example of that, he said, was Ceasar's stellar play for Georgia last season and then earning the chance to play for the collegiate national team.
"If I had told T a year ago that in your freshman year you were going to lead all freshmen in points per set and then you were going to go play for the college national team, she never would have believed that," Black said. "She's uber-driven every day and she's a great example of, 'How good can I get today?'"
The soccer team is coming off a four-win season, but the Bulldogs will have a very different look in 2018. Thirteen new players are on the roster — 11 freshmen and two fifth-year transfers — and a total of 22 players are either freshmen or sophomores. All those youngsters, along with the small group of upperclassmen, showed their head coach something with how they handled that tough practice Monday morning.
There were long stretches of 11 versus 10 and a lot of drills and running. It was the kind of practice that good teams find a way to grind through and come out of it better for the experience, both physically and mentally.
"I told them after that practice, 'It's not always perfect, but playing 11 v. 10, today you guys were grinding more than at any point since our coaching staff has been here,'" Lesesne said. "They really stepped up to the task, communicated well with each other and just found a way to grind it out. It was good to see and I hope that preps us for (Duke). They really pushed each other hard today and that's going to give you growth."
The soccer team will play a Red & Black scrimmage at the UGA Soccer Stadium on Saturday at 11 a.m. Georgia opens its season on Aug. 17 against Georgetown, at the Virginia Tech Tournament in Blacksburg, Va.
Volleyball opens its season on Aug. 24 (7 p.m.) against Coastal Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum. On Aug. 18, the squad will host its annual alumni match at 11 a.m. at Stegeman.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
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