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LORMAN. – There’s only been three training sessions thus far, but Alcorn State Women’s Soccer Head Coach Kevin Larry can see major differences from the previous season already – and he’s eager for the future to arrive as the Braves continue training ahead of the 2022 season.

The 2022 edition of #BravesCamp for Women’s Soccer kicked off on Friday, Aug. 5, with the team going through both dribbling and ball-control drills. On Monday, Aug. 8, the Braves went through conditioning tests before setting their sights on practicing formations later in the evening.

“The team looks motivated,” said Kevin Larry, now entering his second full season at the helm in Lorman. “The entire energy is different from last year. In just three training sessions, you can see a complete difference from 2021.”

The Braves performed the Beep Test on Monday morning.

The Beep Test is a multi-stage running test utilized heavily by nationally-ranked schools such as North Carolina and Florida State, designed to determine an athlete’s physical fitness. A player runs continuously back-and-forth between two markers 20-meters apart in sync with beeps from a pre-recorded audio.

Afterwards, Alcorn State took part in several more conditioning drills at Jack Spinks – Marino Casem Stadium including a series of hops, sprints and back pedals up the northwest end zone under the scoreboard. For the afternoon session, the focus was on keeping possession – something Kevin Larry thrives on for his offensive attack in a more traditional 4-3-3 setup.

“We’ve really used these first few days to sort out some conditioning and technical stuff, as well,” said Larry. “We don’t really have a long preseason period to train and work with the team. So, we have to use every day to the fullest and make it count. We have to get them up to speed with a number of things quickly.”

Alcorn State has nine more days of training ahead before the season-opener versus Southern Utah on Thursday, Aug. 18, at Sports Force Parks in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Braves will play an exhibition game away to Hinds Community College on Aug. 13.

“I tell the team they’re already 1-0,” expressed Larry. “For me, I say this because we have the right attitude now, and we’re bonding in ways that just didn’t happen last season. It’s just a good environment all-around, and I’m excited to see what we can do this upcoming season.”