2008 Soccer Blog - Week 1

by Kim Johnson - September 5, 2008

Scary Fun Fitness is probably one of the most dreaded activities on the Mount Holyoke soccer team. After a week of practice twice a day, along with two scrimmages and fitness tests, scary fun fitness begins to sound just scary. We all split up into teams, some teams get really into it. Emmy’s team wore face paint and matching outfits, while Colleen’s team had glow sticks and duck whistles. Each team was given a number, a map, and a sheet with questions on it. The goal was to be the first team to answer all the questions right. My team had sheet number 5; there were a total of six sheets that needed to be completed. After the first one was completed, we had to run back to Kendall (the athletic complex) and collect the next set of questions. My team started out at a nice pace, just staying slow and steady. We worked as a team to find each answer, and finally made our way back to Kendall. By our third trip from Kendall, we started to chant some encouraging words to keep us motivated and to keep us moving. It also helped seeing the other teams run by us, and while they ran they shouted words of encouragement to help push ourselves to our limits. We finally finished all 6 sets of questions! When we got back, a sense of accomplishment washed over me, and I’m sure my other teammates as well. When we finished, I realized that scary fun fitness was not as difficult as I had imagined. Scary fun fitness was definitely a mental and physical challenge. It was also scary sometimes (like when we had to run behind the Equestrian Center in the dark), but most of all and most importantly, it was a lot of fun.

Another fun team bonding/fitness activity we did was run up Skinner Mountain, more commonly known as Mt. Holyoke. Unfortunately some of us with various injuries could not run up the mountain but instead chose to ride bikes from the school to the Mountain summit. I was a part of the biking team due to a shin splint in my right leg. We called ourselves “The Spokes.” We were a hard core biker gang, decked out in our helmets and athletic gear. Ellen, our athletic trainer on campus, came to enjoy the ride with us and make sure none of us got hurt. So the bikers got on their bikes, and the runners got in the car, and we all started to ride to Skinner Mountain. Now, for those who have never been up Skinner Mountain, it is very steep and curvy. It is neither easy to run or ride a bike up it. However, it is challenging and is also fun. At one point, I was going so slow that I toppled over a few times. Then, one of the biker’s chains broke off. I offered to walk it up the mountain since I was having a hard time balancing and staying up right. Eventually, I was picked up by our team captains Terry and Elaine, because walking would have taken too long. After we made it to the top, we took a team picture. Then, we all went out for ice cream. It was a great way to end pre-season! I couldn’t have been happier with the way pre-season went. It was by no means easy, but with such a great team attitude, everyone made it a lot of fun. It wouldn’t have been fun without that collective effort, and everyone pushed themselves 110%.