You walk in the Clements Center and see Hugh Hefner, Playboy Bunnies and a bunch of other women running around in costumes. Welcome to the 2012 women’s soccer Halloween practice.
After last Tuesday’s win over Marietta, the Otterbein women’s soccer team won the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season for the fourth time in the last five seasons. With a team that breeds success, the women find ways to stay relaxed with a little fun on the field.
Traditionally, the team’s seniors have run the last practice of the regular season. But in 2010, the team advanced to the Final Four, and the last practice would never be the same.
“The girls were nervous and smart students involved in hard classes,” head coach Brandon Koons said. “They were caught up and were stressed. It was the end of the quarter at the time and the tournament was coming.”
At the time, one senior in particular, Laura Vasbinder, had an idea that would become a tradition: a Halloween-themed practice.
The last practice of that year, the girls took the field in full costumes to play games, participate in drills and ease the stress awaiting playoffs.
“It was the perfect tension-breaker,” Koons said. “They acted like kids. It was really about remembering why they play soccer and what it’s all about.”
In the seasons to follow, the women began to look forward to the Halloween practice.
“How many people play their respective sport dressed up as a clown or a lumberjack?” senior athletic training major Jessica Yaney asked. “It’s a really fun practice because we get to dress up in silly costumes and attempt to play soccer.”
The seniors were excited to see what this year’s practice would bring.
“It’s hilarious to see everyone dressed up,” senior mathematics major Emily Bates said. “We all try to keep it secret from each other so no one ever knows what’s coming.”
And although the team is still there to work hard and practice, the costumes alleviate the everyday stress of skill repetition.
“We don’t make it through whole drills without laughing hysterically at someone in their costume,” senior nursing major Sara Wolfe said.
As the women’s success in the regular season leads them to tournament play, Wolfe said a practice like this seems fitting. The weight of balancing school work, practice and the additional nerves before the tournament can cause the women to feel overwhelmed.
“Having this practice gives us a chance to calm our nerves, relax and just have fun for a day amidst all of the seriousness and pressure of the OAC tournament,” Wolfe said.
Bates added, “Brandon is a coach that understands that sometimes it’s more beneficial to take a day off than it is to practice. He wants to give us a chance to let loose and just have fun.”
And what kind of team Halloween practice would this be without a coach who also participates?
“Brandon goes all out and wears wigs, and even the athletic training staff has dressed up before,” Yaney said. “Everyone gets really into it.”
Costumes that have been sported at past Halloween practice include Little Bo Peep, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the elderly. But a favorite memory among the team members would be when Wolfe took the field as a World Cup referee with a whistle.
“She blows the whistle and calls the team offsides,” Koons said. “It was not only smart, but it was funny too.”
Weighing the cost of being a student
