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ACADEMIC NOTES ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// while also simulating hockey crossovers and direction changes. "There's a good correlation between what they do on dry land and on ice," explained Miller. "We've been testing pro-agility on the ground for a few years and Mark tested it this year on ice. We compared the results and it showed that the fastest kids on land were the fastest on ice. A lot of it comes down to flexibility, and core and lower-body strength so those are things we are working on." Players do individual "special needs" work on Fridays. "By the end of spring they should be very strong," said Miller. "We want to build on that during the summer but not grind them down, so they will be ready when things ramp up on Aug. 1. "I email them a whole summer packet with warm-up, lift, run, flexibility and any agility drills we are going to do when they get back," said Miller. "Then I will send them emails every two weeks to see how they are doing and if check they are hitting their weights." Unlike hockey, the volleyball season is long over come spring, with the Big Green's final game back on Nov. 10. But second-year coach Erin Lindsey had the team back on the court for spring practice by the time Fournier arrived at Dartmouth on March 25 and got right to work. "We want our kids to be the stronger players on the court," Fournier said. "That is what the coaches are looking for. It's going to help them get W's across-the-board, being the stronger, more powerful team. So we are definitely pushing more weight in here." Fournier, like Miller a refugee from the Yale weight room, works with the volleyball players five days a week in the spring. Thanks to some efficient scheduling, she has the entire squad each day at 9 a.m., sometimes after an even earlier practice. "It's Monday, Wednesday and Friday (in the weight room) and two days out on the court," Fournier said. "I see them for about an hour. "On Tuesdays at 7 we work on speed and agility. We will start with some mini hurdles or ladder drills and then go right into pro agility or some sort of box drills to work on their speed with turning and cutting. On Thursdays, it's conditioning and straight ahead sprints." The volleyball team came into the spring relatively healthy and Fournier's weight-room sessions are designed to help make sure that's the case next season. "They really need upper body strength because their shoulders are a bit overused," said Fournier. "In the off-season building up all the muscles around the shoulder is important. You would be surprised how many of them end up getting shoulder surgery. Tendinitis, rotator cuff, all of it is because of overuse. "We want to make sure that the joint is going to be healthy, that it is going to be able to withstand next season." Although Fournier is still new to Dartmouth she's on the same page with the Big Green's head volleyball coach. "There's a lot of load on our players' shoulders from the number of times that they attack ball," said Lindsey. "That's one of the things I wanted Kayleigh to really work on. Also the knees and making sure the kids jump the right way, because sometimes their shins hurt from all the jumping and landing." "Because volleyball players are often taller they tend to have weaker hips and internally rotate their knees," Fournier explained. "If you look at them in their defensive stance their knees are in where they should be out and over their toes, so you see tourquing action in the knee. "Strengthening their hips and working on their 'gluts' will help them jump and land properly so they won't break an ankle or tear something in their knees." Because volleyball is a fall sport the summer is the last chance to increase strength. "We want to get them as strong as we can while keeping them flexible for their sport," said Fournier. "So we will be working a lot on their strength right up until late in the summer, right around preseason. That's when the volume will be cut down. Then we will start working a lot on speed, jumping, getting higher. Moving weight quicker and faster so that they are as explosive as they can be coming into preseason." Although Fournier is new to Dartmouth and Lindsey has only two seasons with the Big Green, the strength coach and volleyball coach quickly understood their goals are the same. "I sat down with the coaching staff to talk about what their vision was for the team, what they wanted from me and what I wanted from the kids and it lined up perfectly," said Fournier. "We are on the same page. "Now it is just pushing forward and getting the kids to be where we want them to be. When I got here I'd say they were a little bit behind where they should have been, so we worked hard to get their form down so we could get them stronger and really push them. I think the team is going to see a big improvement in its play next year." If it does, part of the reason is the work being done this spring and summer. Lindsey believes she can already see progress. "Absolutely," she said. "Some of it is creating a culture where this is something that is important to our athletes. We want them to understand why this will make them the best athletes they can be. We're creating a culture where there is an understanding how important the weight room is to what we do as volleyball players. "It's important to have great teaching, the kind Kayleigh is doing. She does a very good job of making them see that she believes they can do it and giving them the information and motivation to stick to it. That's going to make a huge difference for us." 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