Every spring semester, Occidental’s fall and winter athletes take to the weight room, court and field to stay in shape during their off-season.
Micah Elegores (junior), a guard for the women’s basketball team, said the team works to maintain a playful atmosphere amidst the discipline required during the off-season. Elegores said the team is encouraged to play pickup at least twice a week after team lift.
“We’re kind of messing around, we’re kind of serious, but it just reminds us that basketball’s fun,” Elegores said. “We don’t have to be coached every second.”
According to Elegores, assistant strength coach Dave Foley creates lift plans that are basketball-specific during the off-season.
“We do explosive movements rather than trying to put on a lot of weight,” Elegores said. “[Coach] Foley is more focused on making sure our form [and] technique is right, so that it will translate basketball-wise.”
Elegores said graduating seniors attend pickup games but not team lifts. The seniors have created a foundation of leadership and their absence at off-season practices will be felt, according to Elegores.
“I always had [a] big group of upperclassmen ahead of me, and they’re pretty vocal people that really took charge in a good way,” Elegores said. “Without them, I actually have to lock in, period.”
Elegores said although the extra free time during the off-season can be nice, she misses the action of everyday practice or games, and is looking forward to next season.
“A lot of outsiders are going to underestimate us, especially [because] we lost our [seniors],” Elegores said. “Going into the off-season and next season, we’re going to play with a chip on our shoulder and […] prove those people wrong.”
Men’s soccer forward Tyler Na-Nakornpanom (senior) said spring practices have been essential to building team synergy, staying in shape and keeping each other accountable. However, Na-Nakornpanom said the anticipation of post-spring training cuts can produce a stressful environment for younger players.
“[The freshmen] have meetings with Coach Rod, and [he] puts pressure on them,” Na-Nakornpanom said. ‘“You gotta perform now’ — this is the time where [he’s] thinking [about] how to trim down [the] roster. In the fall, you need your best 30 players on the team.”
According to Na-Nakornpanom, spring training has consisted of four practices a week in the past, but this year the program has cut down to two or three to allow for a longer spring season in accordance with NCAA regulations. Na-Nakornpanom said men’s soccer head coach Rod Lafaurie typically organizes two spring games against DI or DII schools.
“It gives us a good challenge,” Na-Nakornpanom said. “Sometimes you can see it the other way, it’s not realistic to play teams like that […] playing a team from DIII [at a] similar level [would] be better. But I think it’s good to see where we stand against DI and DII schools.”
Although Na-Nakornpanom’s Occidental soccer career is over, he competed in three SCIAC tournaments and holds two conference championship titles. He said he sees potential for true success in the younger players on the team.
“The junior class under us can possibly be better than my class,” Na-Nakornpanom said. “If they win next year, then they have three [conference] titles under their belt. I just hope that they want that and they work for [it]. They have a great squad with great coaching staff, and I think there’s more to come.”
Outside back Jill Maigue (sophomore) said women’s soccer had a successful run last year, as the team made it to the SCIAC tournament for the first time since 2019. According to Maigue, that momentum, combined with the excitement of a new head coach, is bringing a heightened energy into off-season training.
“I think the mentality of this season is really just resetting and building a strong foundation,” Maigue said. “We’re getting along really well with our new coach.”
Maigue said women’s soccer head coach Lydia Mitchell is bringing collaborative energy to the practice structure and team culture, which has gained the trust of the team.
“Going into practices last season, we didn’t really know what we were doing,” Maigue said. “But Coach Lydia has a really good system. She’ll post the practice plan at least a couple of hours before practice and do wellness check-ins.”
Maigue said Mitchell’s dual role as both the women’s soccer head coach and strength coach has made a big difference in understanding athletes’ health and recovery.
“It ties in really well with our practice plans,” Maigue said. “She understands if we’re sore, because she puts the exercises out.”
According to Maigue, spring training ramps up in intensity after spring break, when the team goes from two practices a week to five, Monday through Friday. Maigue said the strength sessions during the off-season are more difficult than lifts in-season.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on pushing yourself,” Maigue said. “Fall season [is] more maintenance […] to make sure […] we’re not losing too much mass from running all the time. This spring […] it was super squat heavy […] progressively getting heavier [and] lower reps. March 31 we have a day of lift set [to] max out and get PRs.”
Maigue said since all of the juniors on the team are abroad, the spring training is just first-years and sophomores.
“Every spring is just very [young] energy,” Maigue said. “This year, I don’t think [sophomores] [had] a hard time trying to step up [into] a leadership role, but it also helps that everyone’s new to this coach.”
Contact Lucinda Toft at ltoft@oxy.edu
