Football and women’s volleyball are typically fall sports. But spring practices are equally important for countless reasons: building team chemistry, teaching skills and reinforcing technique.
Last week, the Spokesman-Recorder spent time on both sides of the Mississippi, visiting the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota as their football and volleyball teams wrapped up spring practices.
In St. Paul, St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso, a 12-time coach of the year winner since taking over the Tommies program in 2008, spoke after a recent workout about what spring ball means without a Saturday opponent to prepare for.
“That means for us, banking reps, being able to build depth and then strengthening the belief and confidence in what we do,” Caruso said.
Spring ball also matters for shaking off the offseason rust.
“January, February, March… it’s kind of a coaching desert,” he continued. “To be able to get back out here with the players is refreshing.”
Graduate student quarterback Amari Powell of Valencia, Calif., is competing for the full-time starting job this fall. The 6-foot signal-caller started six games in 2025, completing 69 of 131 passes for 786 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. His best performance came last October, 265 yards and three touchdowns. He graduates this spring with a finance degree and will begin graduate school in the fall.
“It’s good to be back out here in my second year with this offense,” Powell said. “The biggest thing is that whatever we struggled with in the fall, we can correct and fix in the spring, and work on some new things.”
Caruso noted that the condensed format, 90-minute practices twice a week with three-deep reps rather than four, keeps things focused. He also acknowledged his full roster isn’t assembled yet.
“You have 30 freshmen, maybe six or seven of which you think are probably going to play on Saturdays… they aren’t here yet,” he said. “We want them to leave here healthy, and we need to know who our roles are before the freshmen come in.”
The St. Thomas spring game is scheduled for Friday, May 8.
“I would say we’re not polished yet,” Caruso said.
Meanwhile in Minneapolis, spring volleyball concluded with a match last Friday between Minnesota and St. Thomas inside Maturi Pavilion. Both the Gophers and the Tommies won two sets apiece.
Taylor McNear, a 5-6 senior defensive specialist and libero, is back for her second and final season at St. Thomas after transferring from Appalachian State following the 2024 season.
“Losing a lot of seniors in the fall was hard, but we took it as a chance to find our new identity,” McNear said. “This spring, we really focused on trying to find that identity… everyone finding a voice, playing together, making sure we have each other no matter what.”
Gophers coach Keegan Cook said the match gave his staff a valuable look at what Minnesota can do against a formidable crosstown opponent.
“I liked a lot of what I saw, especially in sets two and three on the areas we’ve been working on,” Cook said. “It took us a little while to get adjusted to the tempo of their offense. We’ve got to look at everything, trying to get a lot done in four sets.”
On the football side, the Gophers split into two squads and played a spring game last Saturday, the program’s first since 2017.
Running backs coach Mohamed Ibrahim reflected on what the spring revealed about his group the day before the game.
“This spring ball really shows me where they’re at right now,” Ibrahim said from his Bierman office. “I know exactly how to coach each one of these guys so they can pick up the playbook. All spring ball, I’ve been going hard on them on technique. I don’t want to reteach technique come fall camp.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.