Usually the off-season is a time for athletes to rest and recuperate from a long and strenuous season, but don’t tell that to the UNCW men’s soccer team.

The Seahawks, in preparation for their fall 2008 campaign, are in the midst of an eight -game spring exhibition slate, which includes several challenging fixtures against high-level opponents.

Matches against 2007 NCAA Final Four participant Virginia Tech as well as the professional United Soccer League’s Rochester Rhinos, Charlotte Eagles and Wilmington Hammerheads headline the grueling offseason lineup.

Head Coach Aidan Heaney is no stranger to scheduling high level opponents, as he strives to measure his team against the best talent the area has to offer each spring.

“That’s how you get better,” Heaney said. “These teams are quicker and it’s not always about the result but the performance that you put in.”

With such a young squad, Heaney finds these exhibitions crucial to the team’s progression leading into the 2008 CAA season.

“We’re making some good progress. These matches give us a chance to get a better understanding of how to play together and also let’s us look at some of the individual progress of the players,” he said.

Even with the busy schedule, the Seahawks are still finding time to remain active in the community. The squad, who frequently participates in charity events, will host a match to raise money for the New Hanover County Relay for Life program April 19. The charity match will see the Seahawks once again face off against local profession team the Wilmington Hammerheads.

“We usually do a lot of sponsor walks, but we thought this would be a great way to help by doing something that we enjoy as well as create interest in the program,” Heaney said.

With the 2008 regular season just a few months away, the match will be the team’s final outing this spring, giving them one more opportunity to work on improving before summer sets in.

Heaney believes finishing against a strong opponent like the Hammerheads will help his team fine-tune what they’ve been working on all spring.

“It will help us defend better as a team. We also need to focus on creating more chances and scoring goals off of those chances,” he said.

The match, which will be held at the UNCW Soccer Stadium, will also include a special pre-match clinic.

Children attending the event will be able to lace up on the Seahawk soccer pitch and receive instruction from members of both the Seahawks and Hammerheads. The free clinic is scheduled to get started at 5:30 p.m. with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Tickets for the event will be $5 (children under 12 free) and will be available at the stadium gate.