Boston Breakers' Maggie Tomecka, Kasey Moore:There's No Season Like Preseason

With two weeks of training camp in the rear view mirror and the team bus driving towards their opening contest against the Washington Freedom on April 10, Coach Tony DiCicco's Boston Breaker squad has finally departed the confines of the training bubble at Harvard University. The Breakers are traveling south down Rte. 95 to the warmer climate in Florida.

Their current roster of 23 players will be trimmed a bit further in the next three weeks. DiCicco and his coaching staff will decide on the top 18 athletes to start the 2010 season of Women's Professional Soccer. DiCicco will keep another four players in addition to his final choices to make up the team's developmental squad.

The early days of camp become a testament to the players commitment to arrive at camp physically fit. Early season muscle aches and nagging injuries can become a factor and have an effect on the ultimate make-up of the team. 

Since the Breakers 2009 campaign ended on Aug. 9 of last year, many of the Breakers have remained involved in both International and Club team play and, for the most part, remain game ready year round.

Nothing shocks the muscle groups with as big a jolt, however, as the first days of training camp after a long offseason hibernation.

I spoke with two veterans returning from last season's Breaker team, midfielder Maggie Tomecka and defender Kasey Moore, to discuss their offseason training regimens and how they prepared to improve their chances of gaining one of the coveted spots on this season's Breaker roster.

Todd Civin: Describe your offseason training regimen. Where do you spend the offseason?

Maggie Tomecka: I was in North Carolina in the offseason.  I was working at UNC hospitals as an anesthesia resident.  A lot of my former teammates from UNC were also in the area, so it was great to train with them.  I played as much as I could, worked on my shooting and dribbling skills, and ran fitness three or four times a week to stay in shape.   

Kasey Moore: I spent the offseason down in Austin, Texas finishing up my degree at the University of Texas. I am required to have an internship for my major, so I was the marketing intern for the CATZ (Sports Performance and Physical Therapy Center) in Austin. I was training at CATZ four to five times a week, playing on an indoor team, and training with the University of Texas team during their morning spring practices four times a week.

TC: Does your diet change from what you eat during the offseason to what you eat now that camp has started?

MT: I have noticed I eat a lot more in season.  I try to eat a healthy diet in general, so the actual food hasn't changed, just the amount.

KM: After season was over last year I definitely let myself eat the things I really didn't eat much during season. In the weeks leading up to reporting to preseason, I definitely tried to eat better foods and tried to drink at least around 10 glasses of water a day.

TC: Do you allow yourself much junk food?  

MT: I have a sweet tooth, so its sometimes hard to control how much junk food I eat.  I allow myself one desert daily and maybe a few sour patch kids throughout the day. 

KM: I try to avoid most junk food during season, but I definitely crave soda after really hard workouts and games. Don't ask me why but I have since college. I also will splurge on some peanut M&Ms every now and then, but try not to eat them all the time.

TC: In this era, of WPS, Club, and International play, do you remain game ready all year long? 

MT: It's ideal to stay game ready year round.  I do the best I can to stay that way. 

KM: I try to remain game ready at all times because you never really know if our Breakers' coaches are going to call you and ask for you to run a fitness test and send them the results by the end of the week. Yes, they really do it!

TC: Now that training camp has started do you feel you were adequately prepared?

MT: I think so. Of course, I always think I could have done better. It's just my personality.  But overall I think my preparation was adequate. 

KM: I definitely feel like I am prepared this year. Last year coming directly out of college, I was in good shape for college standards, but the level of soccer in the WPS is on a whole different level. After one season in the league, I realized that I needed to put in the effort in the offseason and come into camp the fittest I could be.

TC: How does coach Tony training camp differ from others you're participated in?

MT: Tony has been focusing on playing.  He laid out fitness standards for us months ago, so everyone worked hard in the offseason to meet them.  This allows us to focus more on playing rather than running fitness during preseason. 

KM: I have only participated in youth National Team training camps and they are pretty similar to Tony's training camp. Both have a lot of 11v11 games, small sided games, technical drills and are extremely, extremely competitive.

TC: At first glimpse, how does the team look?  Any surprises?  

MT: I am very happy with how the team is shaping up.  We have some incredibly creative players who will be a lot of fun to play with.   

KM: I think the team looks really good this year. After seeing how everyone did on the fitness tests, we definitely all put in the work in the offseason and came in a lot fitter as a whole, which is always a great thing to see. I am excited to see how the team develops because we have a tremendous amount of talent and potential.

TC: What part of you hurts the most after the first few days of camp?  

MT: Well, I rolled my ankle, so I have to say that has been the most painful.

KM: Anything and everything! Preseason is just a cycle of playing, icing, and sleeping and then waking up the next day and doing it all over again.

TC:  What do you personally need to work on to get ready for opening day?  

MT: I need to get used to playing with my teammates again.  It takes a little time to know exactly where your teammate is going to run, and to figure out where they want the ball. 

KM: There are always things to be worked on, but I think I need to continue to be vocal and organize from the back line and my 1v1 defending.

TC: Does the cold weather play a role in early season training?

MT: We have been in the Harvard "bubble" for the first week, and then had a couple beautiful days outside so we haven't yet had to deal with the cold weather. 

KM: Not too much because we are lucky enough to have a "bubble" over the field at Harvard stadium, so we are essentially training indoors. The "bubble" is actually coming down soon though so we had our first outdoor training today and it wasn't too bad. This year is definitely going a lot better than last year when our first day of training got cancelled because there was so much snow on the roads.

Todd Civin is a freelance writer who writes for Bleacher Report, Sports, Then and Now, and Seamheads. He also shares his top stories on his blog The 'xoxo' of Sports. He is a supporter of Team Hoyt, the father/son marathon and triathlon team of Dick and Rick Hoyt. He encourages you to support their movement of "Yes, I Can" by visiting their Web site at www.teamhoyt.com