Players Vie in Last ETC Camp

from Eagle365.net:

BOULDER, Colo. — The competition to make the Women’s Eagles National Team has become even tighter with the third and final installment of the ETC camps set to take place this weekend. Players included in the camp will make one last campaign for their name to be included on an Eagles player-pool list.

Following this weekend, the 15s program will finalize its roster for the Top 60 camp, to be held in May. The 7s side has already utilized a number of athletes identified at the ETC camps and will continue to do so in its push at winning the upcoming World Cup.

After the invitation list was trimmed by the respective Women’s Eagles’ coaching staffs, only three locations will be hosting the selection camps this weekend. 75 athletes will be split among Palo Alto, Calif., State College, Pa., as well as Minneapolis, Minn.

While player identification remains a focus for the Women’s Eagles staff, a priority for the camp is to introduce the style of play the Women’s Eagles hope to utilize this summer.

Steinberg noted on the transition in focus by stating, “after this weekend our focus turns to developing the players we identified”.

“As of Sunday, we have to start building the players that we have identified, so that we can properly prepare for the 2014 World Cup,” said Steinberg. “While there are always going to be some adjustments made for new athletes, we expect the roster selected this summer to be very similar to the World Cup roster in 2014.”

The schedule for the camp sees the players involved in three on-field sessions, focusing on general play. Intertwined in the various sessions is fitness and weight testing.

A nutritional course fills out the remaining time at the camp to build on the information already provided to players during previous ETC camps.

Outcomes from the weekend will help in determining the players that are selected to the 15s team’s Top 60 camp in May. Those named to the camp will be split into two sides. From there, the players will have a three game match series against each other.

The weekend’s ETC camp will prove vital for players heading to the Top 60 camp, according to Steinberg. The players invited to the subsequent camp will have just one day before the sides compete.

“We have such a short turn-around from arrival to the first match, that we need the players to have the basic approaches and calls in hand before they arrive,” said Steinberg.

The Top 60 camp will be held May 18-26 in Greeley, Colo. at the University of Northern Colorado. The player pool invited to the competitions will be used in determining the lineups for the Women’s Eagles tests against France in June, as well as the roster for the Nations Cup in July.

The late-May scrimmages are tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday of the assembly week.