By Cody Caldwell (Final project for Spring 2014)
Sports can be played by anyone at any time as long as the game is known how to play. You can create teams and play for fun. However the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers Men’s Volleyball team is one that believes success comes from many aspects of life, not just skill, talent, or what happens on the court. The #1 ranked Ramblers are currently having their most successful season in program history this year with an incredible record of 27-1. How have they done it you ask?
Well it started about a year ago on May 1st, 2013 when the Ramblers Lost to UC Irvine, the back to back national champions In their first ever appearance in the NCAA Final Four. That took place at UCLA and when the team returned home to Chicago, they started training for next season. There are many aspects to training to be one of the top teams in college volleyball. One of the most important is weight training. The team weight trains a minimum of four times a week and have been doing so since August. Weight training helps increase verticals, speed, explosiveness, and overall strength. The Ramblers are known in the athletic department for being the hardest working team at Loyola, and it goes to show.
The team begins official practice as a unit in August and if they accomplish their goals, will end their season May 3rd in the National Championship being hosted on their home turf in the Gentile Arena. That’s a long season, that being said there are ongoing injuries that need to be treated and rehabbed. The Ramblers do so by spending a mandatory 2 hours a week in the sports medicine athletic training room in the Al Norville Center, another aspect of what they say keeps makes them so successful.
A new strategy of meditation was brought aboard to the Ramblers program last year by team Chaplin Joshua Peters. The Ramblers meditate once a week after practice and on every game day. They say it helps keep their minds clear of any distractions and really helps to focus on the task at hand.
The Ramblers spend all this time working for their team sometimes people forget they’re students just like everyone else. They have the same work load as any other student but time management is crucial for them as they spend upwards of 25 hours a day with the team.
The Ramblers are a very close nit team. They say this comes from having a small squad of only 16 players. They are all mature and hold each other accountable for doing what needs to be done in all the situations I have just explained above. Doing all of this, helps the Ramblers tremendously when they show up every morning, rain, shine, healthy or not to practice at 7:30 A.M. The team has had an outstanding season this year by doing all of these things, off the court. That can only do so much though, The Ramblers will have to prove that all of the different things they do work by playing for their first National Title in program history. The Ramblers will play the winner of Penn State vs. Lewis in the NCAA semi-finals, Thursday May 1st at 8 P.M. in Gentile Arena.
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- Loyola Ramblers weight training facility. This is where the Ramblers train four times a week to build and maintain strength.
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- Michelle Jacobs, the Ramblers athletic trainer who is full time with the team. She helps the Ramblers prepare for and recover from all of their training.
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- Ramblers Sports Medicine training room where they spend a minimum of two hours a week for injury treatment, recovery, and prevention.
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- The team film session. They watch film once the day before a match and once the day of to make sure they know there opponent like they know themselves.
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- The Ramblers meditate just before each match to ensure focus and a clear mind going into the match.
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- Al Norville building. A brand new building that is home to the training staff, the weight training staff, the admitionstration, and the teams locker room. The Ramblers spend many hours a week working for the name they wear on their backs, Loyola.
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- Norville study area where the athletes spend the little time they get away from their sport, to study.
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- When the Ramblers do everything they can off the court to ensure their success on the court, it’s time to show Chicago what they work so hard to do, win.