Monday Afternoon Notes
Coach Björkegren and Dr. Nadim were available to the media after today’s practice. Here are some of the highlights and takeaways:
“War is dumb.” That was Nadia’s take on the situation in the Ukraine, but she also talked at length on the subject, and I am sure other outlets will post video of her full comments. Be sure to check them out.
Late in the season last year, I would sometimes be the only non-Racing person in attendance at media availability (especially if there wasn’t breaking news and there was quite a bit of that last season.) I made note of this and was pretty critical of the lack of attendance. Today, just about every media outlet was there and that has been the norm this year. Expect broader and better coverage of Racing this season based on what I have seen so far. Kudos to the local media for stepping up. Nadia is a big draw, but I expect the media to continue the increase in coverage especially if the team can win a few matches early in the year.
Both Coach Kim and Nadia said that her injury is progressing ahead of schedule. They both are setting a target at a few months for Nadia to be ready for match action. Theoretically that could mean that she could be ready for the season opener. I believe a late May/early June return is likely.
As seen above, Nadia was working on cardio and regaining strength in her knee. When asked about the current focus of rehab, both Björkegren and Nadim said that getting her knee strength and muscle strength back up to par were the top priority.
Nadia was also asked about her offseason. If you think you are a busy person, you sure hear what she does on a normal day. While rehabbing she was carrying a coursework load 50% higher than normal with double the number of exams while also working in the hospital from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM. She said she sleeps great now that the exams are behind her.
On a non-Nadia note, Björkegren was asked how Katie Lund was progressing being the (presumed) starter in goal. He stated that he believed that being the US #1 was an opportunity for Katie in a few years. If she reaches that level, all Racing fans should be ecstatic.
One final note is that all players were back from international duty and were participating in practice today. Björkegren singled out Fox and said that she was doing “more or less whatever she wants to do with the ball.” Year 2 for Fox sounds very promising.
