Fresh Start

The August steam continues to increase, and that can only mean one thing: preseason practices are about to start.

One week from tonight, the UW-Stout women's soccer team will have all arrived on campus and they will have completed the first practice of the 2009 season. I expect that at this time of night, on that first day, there will be a number of emotions floating through the rooms at South Hall and in the houses of upper classmen. There will be relief for some, and increased anxiety for others. There will be fatigue, excitement, confusion, sadness, intensity and for the lucky few...they may actually be sleeping.

Regardless of how it starts individually for the players who come to start the 2009 season, what really matters is how they finish things as a complete and cohesive unit. It is a challenge for any coaching staff to encourage that eventual unity, on the heels of competitive tryouts, but the challenge needs to be owned by each and every player named to the 2009 squad. It is up to them how they move and react as a group, but that movement starts with the decision by each player to take part in the effort.

One week from tonight will be the start of a season full of stories and pictures and moments that change lives. As a choice, I too choose to be caught up in the Stout movement, and I trust wholly that I will be changed for the better along the way.