Mastery of the Quick Turnaround

The quick turnaround is a difficult thing to master. It takes hours of preparation, discipline and training to get just right. No, I’m not talking about a basketball turnaround jumper; I’m talking about the quick turnaround that is involved in Atlantic 10 soccer play.

(Kobe Bryant has matered the basketball turnaround jumper,

but not the soccer quick turnaround.)

With the majority of conference matches being played on Fridays and Sundays, a team has only one day to prepare for their next opponent after coming down from the previous game. It can be very tricky as sometimes a team might overlook their Friday opponent in lieu of their Sunday adversary or assume that a Sunday victory is guaranteed after a Friday triumph. Teams are forced to take on the coach’s mantra of ‘taking the season one game at a time.’

In the last three years, Charlotte soccer has seemed to master the way of the quick turnaround.

The women’s squad has gone undefeated in the quick turnaround 14 times, while splitting the doubleheader six times and losing both games only once. The men’s team has had similar success by winning nine turnaround opportunities, while splitting four and losing only twice.

Both of Charlotte’s squad will need to continue their turnaround success as the men open Atlantic 10 Conference play at home with George Washington and Richmond, while the women have the dreaded road turnaround with matches at Dayton, the A-10 Preseason favorite, and Xavier.

Mastering the turnaround is essential in college soccer considering conference tournaments are usually held within the same weekend, which forces teams to play up to three games in four days. That amount of soccer can take a toll on the body and mind; coincidentally, Charlotte has seemed to find the winning combination as the men and women have combined to go to the conference tournament final three times in the last four years.

- Men’s Soccer Turnaround: George Washington, Today at Transamerica Field at 7 p.m. and Richmond, Sunday at Transamerica Field at 1 p.m.

- Women’s Soccer Turnaround: Dayton, Today in Dayton, Ohio at 6 p.m. and Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio at 11 a.m.

-- Patrick McCoy, Charlotte 49ers Media Relations --