There's not a lot that concerns University of Hawai'i women's soccer coach Pinsoom Tenzing about the upcoming season.

"I'm happy to say, no. I keep my fingers crossed. I think the only thing down the road is injuries, and nobody can predict that," he said.

The Rainbow Wahine are in preseason camp, preparing for the Aug. 26 opener against George Mason in the OHANA Hotels & Resorts No Ka Oi Tournament.

Injuries already have struck. At Friday's morning practice, senior co-captain Seline Williams twisted her ankle. She is on crutches. "She won't be back for a while," Tenzing said.

Historically, the training camp, usually two- to three-hour practices twice a day, is when the Rainbow Wahine suffer the most injuries.

"I do hate it, and it's a thing that has no solution," Tenzing said. "We don't have enough time to prepare for the season. They have to be conditioned when they come into preseason camp.

"When you try to rush your body to get into fighting-fit physical condition, you are going to get hurt. It is their responsibility, and that's why kids get injured in preseason camp as far as I can see. We can only guide them. Whether they do the work over the summer, it is up to them."

The Rainbow Wahine began preseason camp Wednesday, and started with 32 players. Tenzing made his first cut Friday, and hopes to "bring the team down to a manageable size of 26 or 27."

They are off today, but camp continues tomorrow and runs through the week.

The rigorous two-a-day workouts help Tenzing determine who is in condition — and level of conditioning partly determines whether players will start or make the 18-player travel roster.

Tenzing requires each player to pass three fitness tests. One, a 12-minute time trial, is not-so-affectionately called the "Cooper" by the players, after Dr. Ken Cooper, who is credited with inventing the exercise. The other two are 120-yard sprints, and ladders.

Players can't start or travel if they don't pass the time trials, and "everyone knows it," said Tenzing, who said 13 players passed the Cooper test on the first day.

He is also happy with the level of play during practices and scrimmages.

"We're going to change it up considerably, and the quality of the team is such that I'm having a difficult time determining who is going to play where," he said.

The team is switching to a formation of four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards this season. In past years, it used three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards.

"We intend to attack from the back, and I've got speed and I plan to utilize that," Tenzing said. "I want a lot of circulation, people moving from position to position during the game. We're trying to scramble the opponent's strategy."

For the first time, Hawai'i was the preseason pick to win the Western Athletic Conference. Tenzing thinks the main thing that will stop them from winning its first outright title — and WAC Tournament, and NCAA Tournament bid — is injuries.

Last season, the Rainbow Wahine hosted the WAC Tournament, but "were just too banged up to do anything at home," Tenzing said.

Three-time all-WAC member Natasha Kai played with injuries incurred from her stint with the U.S. Under-21 National Team, and fractured her collarbone in what turned out to be UH's last game of the season, in the WAC Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine also lost goalkeeper Mahie Atay (concussions), Gabrielle Bohlman (lacerated liver), and Krisha Kai (knee) to injuries during the season. Regular starter Natalie Groenewoud sprained her ankle in the second game of the season and ended up redshirting.

"Those are things you cannot predict, you just aren't used to it," Tenzing said.