ROCKINGHAM — The beginning of March may seem like a long way off, but for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer program, it’s right around the corner.
Especially for a program that saw its season in the spring limited to just five matches because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Third-year head coach Chris Larsen and the Lady Raiders have held roughly a half dozen voluntary workouts since Oct. 20. The team continues to meet twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays as a way to stay fresh for the upcoming 2021 season.
At Tuesday’s workout, 21 players representing the varsity and junior varsity teams were in attendance.
Among those were seniors Alena Craddock, Abigail Hudson, Allyson Leggett and Crimson Singletary, along with juniors Stephanie Alvarado and Meghan McKenzie. A host of sophomore and freshman players also worked out.
Helping Larsen out were varsity assistants Ashleigh Larsen and Michelle Denson, along with junior varsity head coach Tad Hamilton and former head coach Bennie Howard.
“Things are going pretty good,” Larsen said. “We have a lot of returning girls who anticipated playing a lot last season. It’s good to see them back out and eager to play.
“We also have a lot of new faces. All in all, we’ve had decent turnouts and it’s encouraging to see all of them have the excitement to come out early to try and get ready for the spring. Hopefully (these workouts) get the ball rolling and get us headed in the right direction.”
Per the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s revised athletic calendar, girls soccer will officially begin on March 1, 2021. After two weeks of practice, games will begin on March 15 and run through April 30.
Richmond will play a Sandhills Athletic Conference-only schedule with 14 matches, playing each of the SAC’s seven other schools twice. The 4A state playoffs will begin in early May after the regular season concludes.
Larsen had his players work on conditioning drills to open Tuesday’s workout, followed by dribbling drills and work with ball control and touches. The Lady Raiders concluded with a series of passing and shooting drills, and Larsen said the name of the game right now is improving the team’s fundamentals.
“The biggest thing is focusing on the fundamentals right now. We have a wide variety of skill levels, so we’re trying to divide the girls up based on that,” Larsen explained.
“The pace of play and being able to make two touches instead of four and five and hitting the target is the difference. I want everyone to have a productive practice, and so far it’s been good."
