Hey all,
Attended the open practice yesterday and I must say, it was one of the best experiences/interactions I've had with the club.
We were first greeted at the practice facility entrance by several team reps and given a poster with the schedule on the back. We entered to the practice field and were spoken to by a team rep and an assistant coach. They explained what the practice would be like (it was after a day off, so they actually went pretty hard) and answered a few questions off the bat.
The players entered the field and gave us some waves before going right into conditioning. They started off with general stretching and warm ups and then went into full sprints and movements. A few small drills were done to loosen up and then they got into the good stuff.
The team was divided into two squads and both did the same drills throughout. They started off with some Tiki Taka type competitions, first with no direction and then a forward direction. Seven passes counted as a win and I believe it was first to five wins. They also did a modified version where the ball could not go higher than players shin guards.
The team then moved to a short game of "touchdown" where players had to reach the "endzone" with possession of the ball to score. The players enjoyed this. That game was then extended to half of the field and the team then worked on some wide passes and crossing on goal.
During this time, there were several line up changes. You could see at one point there was a clear split between guaranteed starters and players fighting for spots. Wingert will be out next game, so a few players, specifically Brovsky, RJ Allen, Watson-Siriboe and Mena, were definitely taking no plays off.
After the half field stuff, the squads went full 11-on-11 scrimmage, which was really fun. The players were let go after about two hours of practice and they were definitely beat. It was extremely hot and the coaches definitely gave them work after the day off. I took some notes from the practice and I won't put them all on here, but here are a few:
- I'm about 6'3 210 and the players are all SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than I anticipated. Even "big" players like Nemec were smaller than I thought they'd be. Lampard, Poku and Saunders stood out as bigger players, but guys like Angelino, Velasquez and Grabavoy were really really tiny.
- Angelino looked spectacular. I severely doubt he'll be here next year. At times, he was the best player on the field. A ton of potential.
- Pirlo plays so effortlessly that it's weird to watch. It's almost looks like players are afraid to go near him because he will make them pay. His feet are like magnets and he is really good at one-touching the ball, even when he's in trouble. He played a lot of defensive midfield in the practice and I expect them to have him play like that from here on out. Kreis also said after that he hasn't had to correct him once yet and that he doubts he will all year.
- Mix looked solid, along with Ballouchy, Facey and Mullins. You can definitely see who is comfortable with their role on the team right now.
- There was a definite gap between the defense and the rest of the team. A few poor plays here and there, but that's not news. Once they get the back four (or three?) down, this team can play with anyone.
- Lampard conditioned hard and looked pretty impressive when he did, but did not participate in team drills. In my honest opinion, he looked game ready, but I doubt he plays Saturday. Just the vibe there didn't seem right. Kreis said they were all "hoping" he'd play.
Jason Kreis came over after practice and spoke to everyone and then some players came over and spoke to fans and signed autographs. Pirlo left rather quickly, but off the top of my head, Allen, McNamara, Poku, Angelino, Ballouchy and a few others came over right away. Mix was all set to go in, but after we chanted his name for a bit, he came over and spent a significant amount of time with us. Serious hat-tip to him and all the players who were visibly exhausted, but put the time in anyway.
As I said, the entire experience was wonderful and a great use of 1,000 of my Cityzen points. Water was provided and the staff, players and team reps were awesome. Emily is one of the Cityzen Reps that I've spoken with in the past and her and the crew she worked with were top-notch. They answered questions and were generally very nice and appreciative to everyone there. Class through and through.
Bottom line, the next time an open practice comes up, GO.
Jordan Griffith
Section 136
Attended the open practice yesterday and I must say, it was one of the best experiences/interactions I've had with the club.
We were first greeted at the practice facility entrance by several team reps and given a poster with the schedule on the back. We entered to the practice field and were spoken to by a team rep and an assistant coach. They explained what the practice would be like (it was after a day off, so they actually went pretty hard) and answered a few questions off the bat.
The players entered the field and gave us some waves before going right into conditioning. They started off with general stretching and warm ups and then went into full sprints and movements. A few small drills were done to loosen up and then they got into the good stuff.
The team was divided into two squads and both did the same drills throughout. They started off with some Tiki Taka type competitions, first with no direction and then a forward direction. Seven passes counted as a win and I believe it was first to five wins. They also did a modified version where the ball could not go higher than players shin guards.
The team then moved to a short game of "touchdown" where players had to reach the "endzone" with possession of the ball to score. The players enjoyed this. That game was then extended to half of the field and the team then worked on some wide passes and crossing on goal.
During this time, there were several line up changes. You could see at one point there was a clear split between guaranteed starters and players fighting for spots. Wingert will be out next game, so a few players, specifically Brovsky, RJ Allen, Watson-Siriboe and Mena, were definitely taking no plays off.
After the half field stuff, the squads went full 11-on-11 scrimmage, which was really fun. The players were let go after about two hours of practice and they were definitely beat. It was extremely hot and the coaches definitely gave them work after the day off. I took some notes from the practice and I won't put them all on here, but here are a few:
- I'm about 6'3 210 and the players are all SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than I anticipated. Even "big" players like Nemec were smaller than I thought they'd be. Lampard, Poku and Saunders stood out as bigger players, but guys like Angelino, Velasquez and Grabavoy were really really tiny.
- Angelino looked spectacular. I severely doubt he'll be here next year. At times, he was the best player on the field. A ton of potential.
- Pirlo plays so effortlessly that it's weird to watch. It's almost looks like players are afraid to go near him because he will make them pay. His feet are like magnets and he is really good at one-touching the ball, even when he's in trouble. He played a lot of defensive midfield in the practice and I expect them to have him play like that from here on out. Kreis also said after that he hasn't had to correct him once yet and that he doubts he will all year.
- Mix looked solid, along with Ballouchy, Facey and Mullins. You can definitely see who is comfortable with their role on the team right now.
- There was a definite gap between the defense and the rest of the team. A few poor plays here and there, but that's not news. Once they get the back four (or three?) down, this team can play with anyone.
- Lampard conditioned hard and looked pretty impressive when he did, but did not participate in team drills. In my honest opinion, he looked game ready, but I doubt he plays Saturday. Just the vibe there didn't seem right. Kreis said they were all "hoping" he'd play.
Jason Kreis came over after practice and spoke to everyone and then some players came over and spoke to fans and signed autographs. Pirlo left rather quickly, but off the top of my head, Allen, McNamara, Poku, Angelino, Ballouchy and a few others came over right away. Mix was all set to go in, but after we chanted his name for a bit, he came over and spent a significant amount of time with us. Serious hat-tip to him and all the players who were visibly exhausted, but put the time in anyway.
As I said, the entire experience was wonderful and a great use of 1,000 of my Cityzen points. Water was provided and the staff, players and team reps were awesome. Emily is one of the Cityzen Reps that I've spoken with in the past and her and the crew she worked with were top-notch. They answered questions and were generally very nice and appreciative to everyone there. Class through and through.
Bottom line, the next time an open practice comes up, GO.
Jordan Griffith
Section 136
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