Wednesday's Training
We realize that, but we still want to make sure that you stay up-to-date on how the team is looking heading into each match.
Conditions: Chilly, 39°F, not a lot of wind. A good setting for a morning kickaround, but we still saw plenty of long sleeves and blue caps buzzing around Field 1.
Theme of the day: Duh, winning! In all seriousness, manager Peter Vermes brought the group together after warmups and stressed the importance of bringing a winning mentality into everything they do as professionals, including training.
Warmup: With conditions as cool as they were, and with the injury concerns Sporting KC is currently facing, a thorough warmup was necessary.
Following a spirited game of 5 v 2 with the players split into three groups, fitness coach Mateus Manoel took the group for a long jog and stretch while the other coaches got together to do some juggling amongst themselves. The warmup culminated with some ballwork in pairs as well as the cycling of players through different stations emphasizing exploding out of different movements.
Training:
--Training took part across two pitches on Wednesday, with the field players on Field 1 and the goalkeepers working on the turf field with assistant John Pascarella. The trialist goalkeeper from last week is still around, as well as one other guest, keeping the numbers even at four.
--Pascarella and the 'keepers worked out with the help of the trialist field players on cutting off crosses hit low and hard across goal. This soon progressed into a lesson on footwork and positioning as the field players were then given the option to shoot on target to keep each goalkeeper honest.
--While Nielsen, Kronberg and company were diving around on the turf, the field players set about an almost full-sided training match with four small goals at each corner of a grid at midfield.
--Training finished up with an attacking exercise to big goals, something we've seen before. We saw four defenders square off against sets of three attackers, with the groups getting larger until five attackers were playing at six defenders.
--There weren't many goals. With the attack undermanned by one (as most attacks often are in a live match situation) you'd expect them to struggle a bit. That doesn't mean there weren't bright spots. Ryan Smith continues to look lively.
Tidbits from Wednesday:
Theme of the day: Duh, winning! In all seriousness, manager Peter Vermes brought the group together after warmups and stressed the importance of bringing a winning mentality into everything they do as professionals, including training.
Warmup: With conditions as cool as they were, and with the injury concerns Sporting KC is currently facing, a thorough warmup was necessary.
Following a spirited game of 5 v 2 with the players split into three groups, fitness coach Mateus Manoel took the group for a long jog and stretch while the other coaches got together to do some juggling amongst themselves. The warmup culminated with some ballwork in pairs as well as the cycling of players through different stations emphasizing exploding out of different movements.
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| Erik Kronberg trains on the turf field |
--Training took part across two pitches on Wednesday, with the field players on Field 1 and the goalkeepers working on the turf field with assistant John Pascarella. The trialist goalkeeper from last week is still around, as well as one other guest, keeping the numbers even at four.
--Pascarella and the 'keepers worked out with the help of the trialist field players on cutting off crosses hit low and hard across goal. This soon progressed into a lesson on footwork and positioning as the field players were then given the option to shoot on target to keep each goalkeeper honest.
--While Nielsen, Kronberg and company were diving around on the turf, the field players set about an almost full-sided training match with four small goals at each corner of a grid at midfield.
--Training finished up with an attacking exercise to big goals, something we've seen before. We saw four defenders square off against sets of three attackers, with the groups getting larger until five attackers were playing at six defenders.
--There weren't many goals. With the attack undermanned by one (as most attacks often are in a live match situation) you'd expect them to struggle a bit. That doesn't mean there weren't bright spots. Ryan Smith continues to look lively.
Tidbits from Wednesday:
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Birahim Diop has a go at goal |
--Near the end of the day, newly-signed defender Aurélien Collin showed off his aptitude for another sport, grabbing one of the balls behind the goal and dribbling not with his feet, but with his hands. Perhaps he's not ready for Allen Fieldhouse just yet, but he showed enough to draw his teammates' approval with some smooth handling.
--Milos Stojĉev stayed after the session had ended for some extra freekick practice. He hit a couple beauties with that left foot of his.
--Also following training, Vermes and midfielder Korede Aiyegbusi engaged in a heated battle of Crossbar Challenge, with somewhat of a twist. The object for the contestants, standing at the edge of the penalty area, was to strike the ball against the crossbar. Easy, right? Here comes the wrinkle. You had to hit the crossbar in such a way that the ball bounced down in front of goal, then run, meet the ball, and volley it into the air into the goal. It was tough to tell who was winning, but there were plenty of laughs and plenty of balls flying over the crossbar.
Final observation: It's clear that the loss against Columbus was a bit of a wake up call for the team and the mood in training certainly reflected that. The guys seemed very focused, and there was a competitive spirit in the air as soon as they stepped out to begin the session.
--Milos Stojĉev stayed after the session had ended for some extra freekick practice. He hit a couple beauties with that left foot of his.
--Also following training, Vermes and midfielder Korede Aiyegbusi engaged in a heated battle of Crossbar Challenge, with somewhat of a twist. The object for the contestants, standing at the edge of the penalty area, was to strike the ball against the crossbar. Easy, right? Here comes the wrinkle. You had to hit the crossbar in such a way that the ball bounced down in front of goal, then run, meet the ball, and volley it into the air into the goal. It was tough to tell who was winning, but there were plenty of laughs and plenty of balls flying over the crossbar.
Final observation: It's clear that the loss against Columbus was a bit of a wake up call for the team and the mood in training certainly reflected that. The guys seemed very focused, and there was a competitive spirit in the air as soon as they stepped out to begin the session.
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