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he Liberty University Volleyball team went through major changesduringthe2004 off season. Shane Pinderwas hired » totaketheroleofhead coach fortheLady Flames over the summer.Coach Pinderfirstcame toLibertyasastudent in1997."I was living in South Florida until that point andfeltthe Lord calling me to Bible School.I applied to fivedifferent Bible Schools...theonly school thatworked out was Liberty."Pinder was hired in1999 astheassistant coach fortheteam and leftin2001 shortly afterhe graduated. Upon his return in 2004 at the helm ofthe Lady Flames, Coach Pinder setoutto seetheteam gain each other's trust "Once trust has been established then •ij you must learn how to i win together," said Pinder Coach Pinder added there are two things athletics can do for the athlete; "Build character and reveal •) character."
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Wit^ the team ac 'J ustin s to a new coach and anew eoach settling into his role, challenges seemed ^the prog am, but •kto the verse any* to race the teamJeremiah Z9<11. season came witri-alo^ change ina short periofckof time,"Coach Pinder said Not only did the coach of the Liberty Volleyball team change but so did the attitude of the players. Junior Allison Hallock from Irvine, C A stated, "Coach Pinder pushes us to levels we never thought we could go." Hallock added, "There is asense ofdetermination on this year'steam rather than inthepast."
Coach Pinderadded, "The foundation ofour team is based on knowing that God has put usin this program for aspecific purpose, creating an atmosphere where personal character is challenged and developed andhonoring relationships in theprocess."Headded thathis definition for a successful season wasone where relationships were honored asthe team strived toget better inevery area of their lives. The Lady Flames strived to make adjustments inthe beginning and came back to produce awinning season.
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Battling the Opposition to Build a Better Team
he 2004 season for the Men's Soccer team was defined by goal-setting and team building The goalofthegame was tobringhome thewin buthead coach JeffAlderofferedaslightlydifferentperspective."Our goalon thefieldis touse our God-given abilitiesasaplatform toshare our faithwith other teams," saidAlder
The men's team sought to improve upon what Coach Alder had built in his three years as head coach. "Since I took over the program, we have hovered around the top three inthe conference but now, hopefully,we can take thenext step andcompete for a BigSouth •' *l championship and achance to go to the NCAA tournament,"Alder - ieteam
'some of the top Conference and the
Accomplishing proved tobe a ch" school; 7.d
"This year's team isvery Competitive and wehave played the
Freshman Kyle Cupid fightsfortheball most difficult schedule in the history of the program overa GardnerWebbplayer. Cupidwas againsttop 25 schoolssuch asVirginia, VirginiaTech, named the 2004 BigSouthFreshmanof i the Year -Photo by Les
JMU and Coastal Carolina, Alder explained
The fiercecompetition brought out the best insome ofthe team's top players who received notable honors Five ofthe team members were named tothe Big South All-Conference Team Freshman Kyle Cupid andSenior Adam Godwin were given FirstTeam honors,while Senior David Guinn,Junior Osei Telesford and Junior Darryl Roberts received Second Team placement.
Cupid, amidfielder from Edinburgh, Trinidad,also received the top honor of Freshman ofthe Year forthe Big South Conference.At the beginning ofhiscollegiate soccer career, Cupid hadalready gained attention, asheclaimed eight ofthe nine offensivecategories intheConference.
After abattleinthe semifinal championship game againstreigningchampions, Birmingham-Southern,the Flames found afourth place finishforthe 2004 season.
The Men's Soccer Team consisted of39 players rom 4 different coun tries The team played 19 regular season games and advanced tothe Big South Playoffs
Jonathan hischest before running itupfield Burklo alternated between midfieldand orward positions during the season
The Lady Flames Soccer team was comprised of 6 seniors,3juniors, 5 sophomores and 8 freshmen -Photo
The Lady Flames'backfield wards offthe opposition and kickstheball toward the goal Altogether the team averaged 11.5 goal shots per game -Photo
