Prior to serving as the assistant coach on the Salisbury field hockey team under Rachel Legath for a number of seasons, Liz Jordon was once the Falcons' head coach for 12 years.

Now, after taking over for Legath, who is on maternity leave, Jordon finds herself once again as head coach for the Falcons, a position she last held in 1999.

Jordon, a former Falcon field hockey player, isn't new to the whole coaching experience and she's looking forward to getting the season underway with a new approach on the sidelines.

There will be a lot of measurable drills and workouts throughout the season that will track each player's progress. Jordon understands the importance of progressing individually as the season goes along.

"Rachel and I were pretty similar, but the way I structure practice is different," said Jordon. "I'm looking forward to being able to structure practice in my style. I like to literally measure people's progress. I like to give them something to shoot for."

Those exercises will include running drills, skill techniques on the field, and more that will include at least one measurable drill every practice.

"If you're on the team, I still think it's important for everybody to have some kind of achievable goal," said Jordon. "Sometimes the kids who are really good don't push themselves very hard. But if they know that someone is standing there with a stopwatch, they might push themselves a little harder."

While the Falcons have struggled in the past few seasons, Jordon and the team are ready for a fresh start in 2013. She understands that the team will have goals of improving on last season's mark, and she'll be there to lend a guiding hand toward that feat.

"Every year they say, 'we want to win more games than we did last year, and maybe we'll do districts,'" said Jordon. "I have an expectation of, if that's where you're setting your sights, this is what you have to do to get there."

The team has been at practice for over a week now, and a lot of the Falcons also got a head start during summer league play. A number of players participated in the True North camp held at Lafayette College over the summer too, and they hope to benefit from the play they experienced over the summer.

The Falcons will open up their conference schedule on September 4 at Palisades.