Sports

Soccer Players Get a Leg Up on the Season

Ralph Ferrigno of Boston Soccer Academy is leading a dozen girls through stretches, footwork, conditioning and shooting for three days this week. The preseason work is preparation for the fall soccer season.

On Monday, 11 soccer players woke up their feet and built endurance, preparing for high school tryouts later in the week.

Coach Ralph Ferrigno led his charges through stretching, dribbling, drop-kicking, running and shooting at .

The grass was thick and shoe-top high as the girls carved paths over the turf learning to make the soccer ball an extension of their feet.

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"We're going to shuffle the deck," the coach announced early in the workout, alerting the girls that they would start slowly but work on various skills.

They ran relay races, dribbled to markers and took shots on goal.  

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Ferrigno said he would pay special attention to footwork, including dribbling and instep training.

"So they strike the ball right," he said.

The players range from freshmen to juniors, and are attending three three-hour practices, from 5- 8 pm, Monday through Wednesday.

The idea is to get them back into the swing of things, said Ferrigno, a former college coach at Dartmouth and Tufts.

"Give them a leg up on the season," he said, apparenlty no pun intended.

Soccer balls cut through the air and spun over the turf. The girls looked happy playing soccer and didn't seem to mind the push-ups and sprints.

Goalie Taylor Irwin said she played some soccer in spring and summer but the preseason workouts "will help prepare me for getting back in the rhythm of playing soccer."


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