NATCHEZ — With soccer season starting in just a few weeks for the Adams County Christian School girls, soccer coach Jimmy Allgood spent the past week getting his girls into shape.

Allgood teamed up with Copiah-Lincoln Community College head soccer coach David Strother. When workouts began Monday, Allgood said the running got to his girls — in the gut.

“Monday and Tuesday, they were throwing up,” Allgood said. “We were getting rid of the summertime blues.”

All in the name of being in shape for the coming season, Allgood said.

“That’s the No. 1 focus,” he said. “One thing I feel will be a key factor is being in extra-good shape this season.”

The ACCS soccer camp was made up predominantly of ACCS girls, with a few of the boys soccer players and athletes from other schools mixed in. In order to get them ready for soccer, Allgood said he customized their workouts so they would be in “soccer shape.”

“Soccer shape is a different kind of being in shape than any other sport, in my opinion,” Allgood said. “You’re moving for 80 minutes. If you’re not, you’re not playing soccer. With the skills, drills and games we’ve been doing, many of our players have not realized they’re getting 2 to 4 miles of running in a day.”

Strother, a Franklin County native, said he was excited to work with a local school and help its athletes improve their soccer skills.

“It’s nice to build relationships with schools in our district, both in terms of recruiting and helping with soccer development,” Strother said.

At the high school age, Strother said repetition and learning proper soccer technique was the most important thing to teach them. Although ACCS has a relatively young program — this will only be its third season to play soccer — Strother said it’s important for the players to maintain confidence.

“You want to learn things gradually instead of trying to do too much at once,” Strother said. “This is stuff they can take home and work on themselves, without the aid of a coach. If they can do that, they’ll improve as individuals, which will make the whole team better.”

Allgood said he met Strother when Strother was a coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit. After seeing Strother’s passion for the game, Allgood said having Strother teach at his camp was a no-brainer when Strother took over at Co-Lin in late March.

“I felt like he’d be an asset,” Allgood said. “The kids at AC have responded fantastically to him. His workouts are pure fun.”

Jordan Parker, who participated in the camp, said Strother was a good coach, but her experience included a not-so-fun smack in the face.

“He headed the ball to me and hit me in the face,” Parker joked.

Merritt Murray, who was a rookie soccer player for ACCS last year, said she was glad some of the younger players were getting to participate in camp.

“All the new kids need to learn how our team works together,” Murray said. “We can sort of show them the ropes. In my experience, it’s better to learn young.

“I’d have been better off if I started playing when I was younger. Soccer is the (most fun) sport I’ve ever played.”