1. What would your tips be for someone who played during college but is looking to up her playing level and make a competitive club team? (Anonymous)
Nora Carr: Finding or organizing mini/throwing/pick-up in your area. Emailing club teams and asking if there is anyone who would throw or do some skill building with you…this can sound daunting but I think any team would be receptive to this. Find as many ways to play as possible, read articles online about skill-building…anyone have other additions?
Charlie Eide: Find a team with a coach and play co-ed, only if you have to 🙂
2. How do you train players to overcome the fear of laying out when saying “just go for it” isn’t enough? (Anonymous)
Rohre Titcomb: Start w/ laying out into water, or laying out from your knees. Coach them in layout form that minimizes risk of injury.
Calise Cardenas: The progression we use at the annual Riot clinic involves laying out from your knees, then from a crouched position, then – if you’re feeling up to it – from a small running start. The grass is usually dry and the ground hard, so it’s still a pretty rough experience. To make the whole process a little gentler, invest in a slip-n-slide or assemble your own. That’s probably the best way to practice if you don’t have a nice wet field to play on. Small things to remember: 1) Don’t hesitate or pull back – if you go to layout and get scared at the last minute and pull back or twist in a strange direction, you could end up injuring yourself; 2) Land / slide on your chest and try to use your forearms like skis sort of guiding you into the landing (do not try to catch yourself with your arms); and 3) try to keep your body as straight as possible. Bent knees will usually hit the ground first and will cause your torso and head to whip into the ground. Don’t layout with your knees bent. Don’t try to cushion your fall with your legs. Just don’t.
3. How much sleep do Riot players get after a hard workout, and before/during tournament weekends? (Bowl of)
Molly McKeon: 8 hours, anytime I can.
Hana Kawai: At least 12.
Calise Cardenas: Sleep is super important but sometimes you fly a red eye, or you work the night shift, or you’re a light sleeper and your teammates snore or sleep talk or or sleep fight. Then you roll with it.
4. BJ or Phil?
Nora Carr: Devin Barich!
5. How do you deal with nervousness before and during intense games? (Bill Bourret)
Molly McKeon: Get a hug from Kawai.
Alyssa Weatherford: Focus Time/Exercises! Play flutter guts or something silly combined with something that I am focusing on. One of my goals over the past couple seasons is to stay low and focus on footwork on D, so before games I have someone run and change direction at me to get it in my brain.
6. What is your practice schedule/training schedule like during season? Do you practice more extensively on weekends that you don’t have tournaments and fill in the week with pickup/training/workouts? (Anonymous)
Shira Stern: Last season, we practiced between two and four times per week: one weeknight practice, one weekday “pod” practice, and one or two weekend practices (a few weeks during the season, we had double weekend practices, but most weeks we just have one weekend practice). We will have a similar schedule this season. In addition to practice, many of us chose to attend optional workouts at Kelly’s gym space one night each week and/or an optional team-track. Some players chose to supplement/replace those workouts with outside tracks, goalty, mini, and gym time, depending on scheduling conflicts and specific needs.As for tracks week-to-week, we tended to run lower-volume, game-like workouts the week before a tournament, while our off-week workouts were higher volume, with names like “Black Death” and “My Knee is Bleeding”.
7. Would any of your players be interested in running a coaching clinic in Ireland? (Dublin Women’s Ultimate)
Rachel Bradshaw: I want to go to there!!!
Shannon O’Malley: I AM SO IRISH, I WANT TO DO THIS!!!!!
Sarah Griffith: OH MY GOD YES, YES! MY PEOPLE!