Pre-season is always a busy time of year. Not only are there hills to run, weights to lift, footwork drills to be completed and balls to be thrown, but there’s photo shoots, induction weekend and activities in the form of touch football and a cook-off. nswswifts.com.au caught up with NSW Swifts Head Coach Lisa Beehag for the latest from inside the Swifts camp...

The NSW Swifts headed south last weekend for their Induction Weekend. Whilst there was lots of serious stuff to cover off, the weekend was also a chance for the official photo shoot which always provides an opportunity for a few laughs.

NSW Swifts Head Coach Lisa Beehag was pleased with the vibe over the weekend and the progress the team has made, but one of the surprises which popped up on Sunday morning was some of the players interesting take on the ‘rules’ of touch football which brought about a lot of laughter.

“I was really pleased with how the weekend went. As a team we started to put in place some of things we want to work on, how we are going to communicate and how we want to look as a team on the court,” Beehag said.

“I did however learn that there are only a handful of the girls that actually know the rules of touch football which made for a very interesting and funny game. Interestingly it was those that did know how to play that all wore the same shirt to ensure that they ended up on the same team.”

Perhaps it was a session with sport psychologist Paul Penna on Saturday morning that got the girls thinking more strategically about their touch football teams?

“Paul Penna came in on Saturday morning and he started his session with speed dating. That might seem funny but we’ve got five new players as well as some new staff so it was quite good to find out some things that we didn’t know about each other,” Beehag explained.

The activities didn’t stop at touch football or speed dating, with the Masterchef Swifts Cook-off taking centre stage on Saturday night.

With everyone surviving the cook-off and touch football, the team was back on court this week with Beehag pleased with how they are progressing. This week’s priority has been working the basics including always having two options for the ball, the release point on their passes and ensuring strong hands over the ball.

“It’s like everything; you have to build into things. As a coach you always want more, but honestly, we’re pretty close to where I’d like us to be,” Beehag said.