Nicole Kalishman

Every Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ladue Girls’ soccer team trains at Shred415 in preparation for the upcoming season. For the next seven weeks, the girls will engage in a variety of running and core workouts at the Shred415 on Manchester Road. These workouts consist of four 15 minute intervals of treadmill and weightlifting. Coach Dave Aronberg and the senior captains came together to decide the best type of preseason training for the team; this year they opted for Shred.

“The captains discussed which workout would be the best in terms of what [skills] we need to [build in order to] play soccer [successfully],” senior captain, Carolina Alisio said.  “We chose somewhere that would work [to build] our running abilities in addition to weight training.”

Building strength and endurance before the season begins allows the soccer team to focus on other necessary skills. Then during the season, the team can work on fostering team chemistry, developing their technical skills and other important aspects of the game.

“We need to be in shape before the season starts,” Alisio said. “[Then] we can focus on getting [our] technical work [perfect] rather than taking up our time doing fitness.”

During the soccer season, the girls’ team has around three games per week. This intense schedule highlights the importance of developing core and leg muscles. Without a strong base, female soccer players are prone to injury.

“There’s so little time to get in shape once the season starts,” head coach, Dave Aronberg said. “After 15 practices, the girls are thrown into games and we usually play about three games a week. If girls come in out of shape, they tend to get injured early on in the season.”

Along with getting the girls in shape, preseason workouts are also meant to bond the team. These workouts provide a friendly environment where new players and returning players can meet before the pressure of tryouts.

“This is a great chance for the girls to come together as a team and achieve together,” Aronberg said. “There’s nothing like going through a workout together and coming out successful on the other side.”