Daily training report
Preseason reset: Day 13
United’s last full day in Florida didn’t go as planned. With heavy rain in the early morning, training was pushed back to mid-afternoon, and when training changes, everything changes. Lunch was moved up, treatments were moved back and packing had to happen immediately as the equipment has to be ready to go back to D.C. in less than 12 hours. It’s that time of preseason where players and staff alike are getting tired, but Head Coach Ben Olsen made sure the guys were ready to go in their final training session before Friday’s preseason game (Friday, February 6 - 12:00 p.m.). Thursday evening the team was set to pack, clean, gas up the vans and make sure the players were ready to check out bright and early before heading to the field.
On Field Highlight of the Day:
There are always ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ that come out of a finishing drill at the end of training, most of the time a volley that rips the upper 90. On Thursday there were a few goal of the day nominees that drew the applause of the players and fans alike, including a 25-yard, right-footed blast by Jared Jeffrey that curled in to the top right corner and out of reach.
Off Field Highlight of the Day:
With only one training each of the last two days, the players have had a little more downtime to themselves, and after 13 days it’s easy to find new ways to occupy time. On Wednesday, Nick DeLeon fished off the hotel dock while Markus Halsti and Andrew Dykstra sat on the edge of the water reading their books. While waiting out Thursday’s rain delay, Chris Rolfe, Nick DeLeon, Luis Silva and Fabián Espíndola were seen signing 500 autographs apiece for Topps. There were also rumors of players practicing their putting into cups in their rooms.
Q&A With Davy Arnaud:
DCU: With the last training session in the rear view mirror, how do you feel after 13 days?
DA: (Chuckles) A little bit tired, but I think everyone’s a little bit tired. But it’s been a good camp. At the end of these long trips it tends to get tough, but I think it has been a good trip for us.
DCU: How is the chemistry with this group of guys so far?
DA: It’s good. We are at a better point in terms of the guys knowing each other than we were this time last year which is a good thing. I think we have improved and added some pieces and maybe have gotten a little deeper, and that’s going help us. You need to continue to grow and we had a good year last year, but we still have some things that we want to get done and some things we need to prove.
DCU: Speaking of that chemistry, how important is that with a CONCACAF game so soon?
DA: It’s huge. It’s not a great situation for MLS teams coming into these quarterfinals after coming off of our off-season, especially as our first competitive game. I think if we had a big turnover it would be even more challenging. It’s going to be tough no matter what, but the fact that we have so many guys here from last year will help us.
DCU: What are you looking for out of this last preseason game tomorrow?
DA: I think we will get some more minutes and most important is game fitness, which is really only possible by playing, so that’s first. Second, we want to get a result every time we are out. We might not have the legs to do what we would normally do, but we want to do things the right way, have a good mentality and we need to build off what we did last year.
DCU: Now not to throw names out there but a certain Conor Doyle said you were banned from Catan for unsportsmanlike behavior, has that been resolved?
DA: All I am going to say is, I won today, the last game we played. I will leave it at that. You’re only as good as your last game.
