Aug. 9, 2005
From the commands of strength and conditioning coach Rohrk Cutchlow, to the drills for skills on the court, to the feedback of head coach Sharon Dingman and her staff, the first day of 2005 Illinois State University volleyball practice is all about the goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament, and what it takes to get there.
At 10 a.m., Cutchlow put the team through 10 minutes of stretching and calisthenics, explaining the focus of each exercise by saying "... to get your (name of muscle/muscles) ready to work." Then practice began with a series of ball-handling drills.
Senior Emily Kabbes knows the purpose of that work.
"Every day, every practice, we have to keep in mind that our goal is to go to the NCAA Tournament," said Kabbes, Illinois State's leading blocker in 2004. "We need to stay focused on doing whatever it takes to achieve that goal."
For Dingman, Tuesday Aug. 9 was the 21st `first practice' of her college coaching career--the last 15 as a head coach. She talked about the difference between others' views of the start of this practice season and her own.
"Everyone I've talked to lately about starting up has said `can you believe it's almost here?'" said Dingman. "I tell them `Yes, because I've been working and planning since Nov. 28, 2004 (the end of last season) for this day."
Dingman's 254-day wait is fuel for the fire of the team's 2005 motto: Unfinished Business.
"We have unfinished business because we've felt like that last two years we were just a win or two away from an NCAA Tournament bid," said Dingman. "We didn't finish the job in those instances, but we have an opportunity to get it done this time. We have the talent and leadership. We have the opportunity."
Dingman's team returns five starters and nine letterwinners from a 2004 team which finished 22-9 overall, 13-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference last season. The returnees are Kabbes, senior outside hitters Laura Doornbos and Ashley Grubb, junior outside hitter Savannah Knowles and sophomore middle blocker Kari Staehlin. Those five players have a combined 11 years of starting experience.
"We have nine returning players and six new ones," said Kabbes. "We know we're a talented team, but it's really a new team. We need to do what it takes to achieve our goal--the NCAA."
The window is open for Kabbes and company ... they have 110 days from the first day of practice to the day the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced (Nov. 27) and just 17 days until the regular season opens Aug. 26 against Illinois at Redbird Arena.
