RENO, Nev. – Junior-to-be Cristen Drummond (Los Angeles, Calif.) is spending her summer training and playing with the LA Legends soccer team in Chino, Calif.
Drummond got involved with the team through Nevada head coach Jaime Frias. Frias’ friend Ramon is involved with the team.
“I was going to try out one weekend but it fell through because not enough girls on the team could make it to the practice,” Drummond said. “So they allowed me to come out and train with the team when I returned from school which is what I have been doing.”
The team typically practices two nights a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays with an occasional practice on Sunday. Games are played during the week and prior to the games the team would meet with a pastor.
“Before the game, the team meets and Maurice talks to the team a bit. The LA Legends are kind of a Christian based team,” Drummond said. “We are all reading a book called ‘Crazy Love’ and discussing it in groups. The team is much more than soccer. It is about developing the person and developing a closer relationship with God while playing soccer.”
Drummond enjoys meeting new teammates who are from different colleges around the nation in addition to training at a highly competitive level.
“I think training with the team will help me maintain the level of play I need to compete on the field when I return to Nevada in the fall,” Drummond said. “The difference between playing with this team and at Nevada is not having practice every day. Everyone loves to come out and wants to play make each other better. It is a choice to train, no one makes you.”
In addition to playing for LA Legends this summer Drummond is also training with Ed Daniels who is a conditioning coach for the Slammers FC in Southern California.
“Ed does a running clinic every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for two hours and it is intense. It starts with a mile where every runner tries to make it in six minutes,” Drummond said. “After, we do sit ups and pushups then stretch. For the rest of the time is whatever he chooses. It is very intense but good and he gives ample rest time but works us hard. At the end we kick the ball around for a bit.”
The LA Legends are coached by
Twila Kaufman who is the head women’s coach at Pepperdine University.
