Florida Volleyball Notebook - Aug. 18
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 | Volleyball
With six true freshmen and just four upperclassmen on the 2008 roster, Wise has traded in her whistle for a piece of chalk more this season than in previous years, but that's okay with the 18th-year head coach.
She emphasized on Monday the importance of improving each day of practice and entering the gym with what she calls a “beginner's mind.”
“The point we made to the team today is that, at this point in preseason, we have been practicing for a while, but the end is still along way away,” Wise said following Monday's practice. “We ask of our players that they don't make the mistake of just counting down the practices. We ask that our players, whether in preseason, late season or spring, come into the gym with a beginner's mind. That is, every day, how can they get better?”
While the Gators feature a young, talented roster, Wise is confident that, based on her team's willingness to learn, this year's squad has that championship mindset.
“We do know that the best players to come through our program had that mindset,” Wise said. “And every indication is that this team has it. They want to learn. We have a group that comes into practice early and we have to kick them out of the gym late. All of those are really good traits to have in a team, especially a young team.”
Wise believes that her team will enjoy seeing its improvement on a daily basis, and that will pay dividends by the time the NCAA Tournament rolls around in December.
“I think that athletes love to get better,” Wise said. “They see themselves improving. The challenge is that the better that they get, the improvement levels get smaller. Young freshmen can have these huge breakout days but, as they get older, there are fewer and fewer of those days. Right now, we're seeing players who are playing new positions and we have a new offense. We know we are not as far along as maybe many teams in the country, but we're not worried about where we are on Aug. 18, we're worried about where we are in December.”
The Gators begin their 2008 season by hosting the Aquafina Invitational in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Florida's first match is set for 7 p.m. on Aug. 29 when the Gators play host to UAB.
REMINDER – FAN DAY ON SUNDAY, AUG. 24
Florida will host its annual Fan Day and Orange and Blue Match on Sunday, Aug. 24 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. with autographs scheduled for 1 p.m. and the scrimmage set for 2 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public with a reminder that only the team poster, which will be provided upon entrance, may be autographed.
