On edge, a little nervous and maybe even scared.
Those were the symptoms UF coach Amanda Butler saw in her new players Friday when the women's basketball team had its first day of practice.
Not the case the second day. The players settled in, and they showed no signs of first-practice anxiety, but that's not to say the team was flawless.
"We've experienced some of that gladness, and then we've also experienced a lot of ugly moments as we start our practice too, which we knew was going to happen," Butler said.
Part of practice is finding out weaknesses that don't reveal themselves until players are able to play for extended periods of time as the season approaches. With two practices and a morning session under the team's belt, passing and rebounding seemed to be the two biggest concerns.
Freshman Tessah Holt remembered a lot of turnovers in practice.
"They keep how many turnovers each player has," she said. "The ratio wasn't that great."
The passing and rebounding kinks can be attributed to the mental toll practice takes on players, in addition to the physical wear and tear.
"Those are the two weaknesses that you'd expect to see, because they're so overwhelmed with how much they're trying to take in and learn that maybe some of these other details get overlooked a little bit," Butler said.
Butler made clear the coaching staff would not overlook the finer details.
The team wasn't helped by the absence of senior Jennifer Mossor, who sat out the first practice because of the flu, practiced partially in the second session and participated Monday morning.
Senior Sharielle Smith believed the majority of the team's passing and rebounding hiccups stemmed from the lack of structure over the summer. During pickup games, the team doesn't have coaches around to critique and assess performances.
"That's all it is right now, just getting into the habit of having structure, having coaches around," Smith said. "I definitely think it's something within the next week we'll be over - that little problem of lacking the basics and fundamentals."
Looking past the growing pains, Butler was pleased with select individuals' performance, including Ndidi Madu, Jennifer George and Jordan Jones.
Madu has shown the potential to be a reliable force in the post this season, and George, a member of a highly touted freshman class, had strong days that reflected her physical strength on the inside.
The notion of playing after sitting out a year has sparked a competitive flame under Jones: the sophomore transfer hit a game-tying shot in a team scrimmage in the first practice.
Butler wasn't surprised by the standout individual performances, but more so the fact that some of the young players were challenging their older teammates in practice.
Smith noticed the heightened intensity in the opening practice versus practices in years past.
"Every year, we're supposed to be building off of what we did the year before," she said.
