@CanesFutbol Captain's Corner: July 16, 2015

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The captains of the University of Miami soccer team for the 2015 season will be writing a blog for HurricaneSports.com this year called Captain’s Corner, with Shannon McCarthy providing the opening entries this offseason.

A defender from Brighton, Mich., McCarthy opens up the blog Thursday by sharing some insight on the team’s offseason and upcoming preseason camp . . .

Hello Canes fans! I am thrilled to have a weekly blog this season! I hope it gives you the chance to get to know the team and myself a little bit more.

We are less than one month away from our first game! Each day is an opportunity for the team to become better than we were the day before. The summer is the time for the team and each player to prepare for the season.

Preseason camp begins Aug. 5. It is two weeks long and involves three fitness tests, training twice a day, ice baths, lots of food and lots of sleep! The demands of preseason camp are hard on everyone’s bodies, so that is why the team comes back to campus before the start of preseason. The preparation for preseason is taking place now.

My responsibilities as captain during this time of the year are to get my girls fit and technically sound for preseason. I organize and run training sessions every morning. We do fitness workouts, technical tests and play small-sided games.

The best part about summer is getting the team back on campus again and watching my teammates get better every day. This time of the year is challenging. I’ve had to push some of my girls past their limits, but the harder we train now, the easier preseason will be. When the team performs well in preseason, it gives us a great deal of confidence heading into our first game.

I promise we will be a fun group to watch this season. Thanks for reading!