Members of the Illinois softball team are writing a blog, which will be published throughout the 2015-16 school year. Follow all the action of Coach Perry's inaugural UI squad right here at FIGHTINGILLINI.com
Hello! My name is Annie Fleming, and I am a sophomore third baseman from Peoria, Illinois. I'm majoring in Kinesiology with the hopes of becoming a physical therapist.
When I was asked to write our first blog entry, I was a little nervous about what to write about. But the events of the past two weeks could probably fill four pages, so I'll try to keep it short.
With an entirely new coaching staff coming in, the whole team was a little nervous about the change in routine. But that nervousness immediately turned into excitement as we met Coach Perry and her staff. After getting decked out with some new Illini gear and attending some meetings, we began the fall season two weeks ago with four, half hour sessions of individual skill groups. During these sessions, Coach Perry broke down hitting and fielding and really helped us execute the fundamentals. We also started 6:30 a.m. lifting – we are all very excited that these are now at 6:30 instead of 6 a.m. – along with conditioning.
This past week we started full team practices, and I can honestly say the vibe at practice is indescribable. The team was very excited to get back out on the field together, and it's showed. All 24 of us are giving our all and cheering on each other. Our first practice was filled with a lot of throwing, after which pretty much the whole team piled into our athletic training room to grab a coveted bag of ice. Even with sore arms, our team looks fresh and ready to kill it this season! All of our practices have been challenging and instructive from start to finish, and I know we are all excited to see what we will learn from the coaches this year.
The future of Illini softball is looking bright. The whole team is excited to see what we accomplish this season, and I know that we are all anticipating a ring on our finger come June.
