Sycamore Snippets -- Season VIII

Sophomore Brice Bement will be updating you throughout the weeks and providing an inside look at ISU women's soccer throughout the 2016 season.

Week 1

This past week the Sycamores celebrated bonding week. With preseason starting this week, we spent the week practicing, while also getting to know each other better with a bunch of fun activities.

Monday started off bonding week with morning weights and then we all met up at the pool for a relaxing day. Everyone was able to catch some sun before heading over to senior Maddie Orf's house for senior dinner, which was pizza.

Tuesday morning we woke up for a light campus run, but unfortunately had to cancel due to storms. However, we were still able to bond at Coach True's going away party for lunch. The storms subsided and we were able to train before heading over to sophomore's Elly Freesmeier and Kasey Wallace's house for a pasta dinner.

The next morning we completed a practice fitness test and then hurried home to change and drive up to Turkey Run Park for canoeing. Some girls were definitely better than others, while some were tipping, others were swimming in the water and having photo shoots together. The sophomore class provided dinner that night cooking up breakfast for dinner.

Thursday arrived and we all headed to weight training in the morning. After that, the Sycamores walked around campus handing out flyers and spreading word for the blood drive going on. A special thanks to everyone who helped out and donated! The freshman cooked some fantastic Mexican food for everyone for dinner that evening.

Since preseason is in a couple days, we decided to just take a light campus run Friday morning to loosen our legs up before we cleaned up and headed to the Wallace's house to stay the night. We were able to go swimming in her grandparents' pool then head to her house where an amazing home cooked dinner was given to us.

With full and happy stomachs, we headed down to her creek where we split into two teams to see who could catch the most crawdads. With lots of competitiveness flying through the air and two snake sightings, Team 1 ended up winning by catching a total of 144 crawdads.

The girls then headed back to the house where the Wallace's had a projector on the barn to watch the movie Deadpool. Along with the movie, we also hung out by the fire and made s'mores. When morning came, we woke up to a feast of breakfast food cooked by Mr. and Mrs. Wallace. After filling our stomachs, we then all left at our leisure to return home. A huge thank you to the Wallace's for their gracious hospitality!

With preseason starting on Monday, the Sycamores are more than excited for season to start. Senior Alex Whittington said, "I think we have gained some great additions to our team and I know all the returners are more than ready to win a Missouri Valley Conference Championship."

Senior Maddie Orf is also very "pumped" about this upcoming season. "We have a new coaching staff who I am excited to work with and play for. With preseason coming up, I'm ready to have everyone back and playing together," Orf said. "I think this is going to be a good year for all of us."

The Sycamores officially start pre-season on Wednesday, August 3. The first exhibition game is Tuesday, August 9, at 7:00 pm at Memorial Stadium.

Go Sycamores!