Tigers sophomore recalls her final practices heading into tournament play.
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NOTE:Adjuwa Osborne is a rising sophomore at the University of Memphis. This summer, she was in camp with the U.S. Virgin Islands National Team in preparation to compete at the U-23 CAZOVA Championship in Bonaire, a part of the ABC islands located off the northwest coast of Venezuela.
My last week of practice before we headed to Bonaire was very intense. Coach Isaac came back and, with him, he brought three more incredible players. Unfortunately, we were not able to practice in the high school gym complex where there was air conditioning. We practiced at Good Hope/Country Day School, where we were cooled by the breeze. Well, not cool enough.
Adjuwa's uniforms/gear for representing the U.S. Virgin Islands in international play.
Before each practice, we ran outside through the hills, and then we did some sprints on the soccer field. After conditioning, we came back inside and proceeded with our practice which consisted of throwing the ball back-and-forth to warm up our arms, and then 100 tempo passes back-and-forth with your partner and 100 over-head passes back-and-forth with your partner. Once we were finished, we would pepper until Coach Isaac finished with the setters. I always felt bad for the setters because, after Coach Isaac would give us our instructions, he would tell the setters to go and set 400 balls on the wall. Keep in mind, we are on the hottest gym on island.
Our final week of practice consisted of running plays. We would spend three hours in the morning working on defense just like the previous weeks, and three hours in the evening working on our plays. It was very tiring, but the grit-and-grind that everyone helped us through it all. Sometimes we would stay after practice because we did not want to leave until we got it right. Though it made for long practice days, it was all worth it because it led us to our success.
