12 WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM Guilford men’s SPORTS soccer preview Sean Urquhart | Staff Writer Soccer, an odd sport played by foreign ers with funny sounding names - well not here at Guilford. The Quakers Men's Soccer season is underway and fans and players alike cannot wait for the first home game on Sept. 11 against Methodist University. "We got a good team this year and we are ready to take it to the next level" said Bram Crowe-Getty, a defender in his third season with the team. Jeff Bateson begins his second season coaching the Quakers and has settled in well at his new home. "Settling in was easy," said Bateson. "I got a great group of guys who do not give me too much trouble. The Quakers return after losing only three players, one of whom is All- Conference Honorable Mention goalkeeper Zane Campbell. Campbell decided to stay on with the team as assistant coach, howev er, much to the delight of Coach Bateson. "It's good to have him around, he brings a lot of experience to the team," said Beteson, who spent much off the off-season recruiting new talent. "It went well; we got a number of prom ising players," said Bateson. "Pat Childs, who played tennis last year for Guilford and freshman Beau Arceneaux will fight for Zane's place at goalkeeper." The Quakers return fifteen players from last year's team, including junior Scott Meguid. Meguid tallied ten goals and four assists, and was named to both the All- Conference and All-Region teams. "Scotty is in line for another good year, he has already scored for us in th6 pre season," said Bateson commenting on play ers to watch for. "Mike McCaffrey has proven a great player and Mark Jarvis has shone consistency on defense." The preseason has not been without its setbacks, however. Bram Crowe-Getty suffered a fractured skull in a head-to- head collision during a preseason match against Cape Fear Community College. Surgery may be required. Sam Huff, anoth er defender, injured his ankle during a pre season practice, but is expected to make a speedy recovery. Peter Deng-Bul, however, is back after missing much of last season due to shoulder surgery. The Quakers face a tough schedule this season, starting with 10 games in Sept., only three of which are home. "September is a tough month," said Bateson. "We play a number of tough teams this year, many of them nationally ranked. Virginia Wesleyan, Roanoke, and L)mchburg are all going to be tough games ... I say we easily have one of the most gru eling schedules around." The Quakers enjoy a small but devoted fan base. The facebook group 'The Fighting Quakers Men's Soccer Fan Club' has 115 members. "I think the team has a really good chance at putting together a strong squad," said club founder Shep Lashley '09. "I think the support we give really helps out the team." At any given home game, at least 30 to 40 diehard and extremely vocal supporters will show up to cheer on their team and their friends. "Its great to have fans in the stands," said Crowe-Getty. "It's hard to play for empty bleachers." "ITie more the merrier," said Bateson. "I think that many Guilford students are the kind of people who follow the more obscure sports, and soccer fits right in there." "Its fun to go to the games and support the team, but what I really enjoy is heck ling the other players," said junior Danny Jimenez, who cannot wait for the first home game on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. Come and support your team, but most of all be loud and have fun. X-Country Jeff Bateson Head Coach Men's Soccer It plm 0 number of tough teoms this yeor, mony of them nutionully ronkeL I soy we eusily hove one of the most grueling schedules mound.” Continued from page i -tice on the loops that run through 250 acres of woods on campus. They also have a cross country course on campus that is suitable for 5k, 6k and 8k races. Practices are usually structured with a one mile warm up, followed by stretching before the workout begins. The team lifts weights after practice twice a week. Every Wednesday, the team works out by running in place in the diving well. "One of the most common injuries with runners is tendonitis and stress fractures, which come from the repetition of your foot hitting the pavement over and over again," LaFollette explained. Pool practices are designed to help pre vent injury while still getting a heart-rate- elevating workout. "Jamie's really good about knowing what everyone can handle," said Normann. "If the whole team is exhausted and bomb ing it, he'll cut back." To think that coaching cross country is pretty straightforward and easy - "Run faster!" - is far from the truth. "Jamie's job is actually real ly hard," said first-year Leon Odell. "He plans all the workouts and calcu lates the times for all the runners." As a coach, LaFollette must know each run ner's personal strengths and weaknesses in order to give useful advice. "Coaching advice is two fold," LaFollette explained. "My (first) job is to essentially get them as physically fit as possible. We talk about V02 max, the way we use oxy gen. We do runs that better gun at our V02 Courtesy of Keri Stodolski thresholds." V02 max is the highest amount of oxy gen one can use in one minute, per kilo gram of body weight. As you become more fit, your V02 max increases allowing you to do more intense workouts easier and at a faster pace. The strategy involved in racing is-per haps just as important. "Jamie might be telling one person (to) be more conservative on the first mile and then speed up, and then to someone else he might say to go really hard on the first mile and then don't worry about the rest," said Normann. Cross country is one sport where you really can't pull off being lazy. It is very much an individual sport and every minute will make or break how well you do. LaFollette's job is to make sure his team remains focused and driven, even on dif ficult days. "He sees the bigger picture whereas we're just trying to make it through one race," said Walker. "He keeps us motivated for a long term goal." In a sport with no communication or teamwork during competitions, you would think that there is less interaction among teammates, but this is not the case. "There's kind of a connection between painful sports and getting along really well with your team," said Normann. Practices can be physically and mentally draining, but the team generally keeps a positive attitude. Odell put it in perspec tive: "Running itself is not fun, so everyone has to be nice and make it fun for every one's sake." Football season needs no rhyme or reason Grace Fletcher | Staff Writer As the Carolina sun descends, the thud of helmets, the scream of whistles and the gasps of exhausted players resonate from Appenzeller field. The leader in command. Coach Kevin Kiesel, prepares to guide his troops through the demand ing 2007 season. Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) foot ball coaches have predicted success by ranking Guilford third in the 2007 preseason football poll. This is the Quakers best ranking since 1998. "When we start our conference season vs. Hampden-Sydney, I can't wait to put the poll in the locker room," said Kiesel to the Greensboro News and Record. "I'd like to kiss all the coaches for that." In addition to the 45 return ing players, over 60 new recruits have been added to the 2007 ros ter. This enlargement may enable Guilford to conquer the ODAC and defeat defending league champi ons Washington and Lee, whom they face Oct. 20. Punter Ryan Huber '08, who switched from soccer to football this year, has witnessed first-hand the merging of the recruits. "When at practice, it is as if we have been playing together for lon ger than a couple of weeks," said Huber, who goes on to describe the close bond developed between the players. "The team notices the new talent and returning talent as a stepping stone to the ODAC finals." "There is already a certain camaraderie on the field given the fact that there are so many new players." Amidst the roster stands Captain Mario Paylor, who finished second in the ODAC with 7.5 sacks in the 2006 season. "We've got so much experience and so much team speed," said Paylor to the News and Record. "This team is the physically stron gest team I've been part of here at Guilford. When you have strength and speed, the sky's the limit." Another contributor to the Quaker squad is quarterback Josh Vogelbach '09, a First Team All-ODAC pick last season and Guilford's career passing leader, with 6,943 yards. Other comrades, including Joe Joyner '08, 2006 All-ODAC Honorable Mention, and center Blake Underwood '09, Second Team All-ODAC pick, also supplement Guilford's 101®^ sea son hopes of a championship. In last weekend's action, Guilford defeated Southern Virginia University 70-26, the high est offensive total for Quaker foot ball since 1932. Volgelbach passed for an all-time ODAC record eight touchdowns accomplishing his sixth 400-yard passing game and his 13*^“ career 300-yard passing game in 21 outings. Vogelbach also received the first ODAC Offensive Football Player of the Week Award of the season.