MLS Columbus Crew SC

2014 Preseason, Bradenton: Day 3

January 29, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


Following two days of training with either a light chill or a morning fog and humidity, the soccer gods of Florida took kindly to the Black & Gold. Day three of training camp provided perfect sunny weather throughout the day.

Break-out the sunscreen, the Black & Gold continue to get to work.

WORKING TOGETHER AS A STAFF

Tuesday marked the first training session for Assistant Coach Rob Maaskant who arrived in Bradenton late Monday night from overseas. Following a brief introduction before training, the team got underway, giving Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter a chance to have his full coaching staff firing on all cylinders.

"I think that we all have our roles and it's great to have Rob [Maaskant] on board," said Berhalter.

"We're looking forward to working together as a staff," he added.

With players and staff on the same page, the team has progressed from fitness work in the first session to the strategic implementation of drills and ball-work, slowly-but-surely building the way the Crew wants to play in 2014.

"The ideas are starting to form in terms of us communicating them to the group," said Berhalter. "It's not just about fitness; it's starting to get into the playing philosophy and then that's when it gets exciting. I think the guys have been great taking all of the information in."

And while the coaching staff has high expectations of rostered players and preseason trialists alike, Berhalter turned the focus as well to the goal-setting of his staff as a key part of the success of the squad.

"I would say our ultimate goal is to impart that playing philosophy on the team," continued Berhalter. "I think there's nothing better than when the team can play exactly the way we're imagining. That's the important thing."

In order to get there, Berhalter stressed the importance of asking critical questions internally.

"For the staff, the first thing is: how do we control that process? How does each one of our individual roles add up to the whole and can we impart our playing philosophy -

THE NEED FOR SPEED AND HOMEGROWNS PUSHING EACH OTHER

Following the duration of the on-the-ball work, the guys traded cleats for their running shoes and marched a short walk over to the sky-blue track on IMG's campus, equally matching the skies lacking of a single cloud.

Broken into groups, players took turns running for additional fitness evaluation. For plenty of guys on the squad, the mental test - running following a full training session - was an extra opportunity to impress the new staff and cashing-in on offseason preparation.

"There's been a lot of excitement and energy and you can tell the guys did a lot of work in the offseason to prepare," said second-year defender and Homegrown Player Chad Barson.

"A large part of the offseason was preparing fitness and strength wise so I was able to work with our Strength Coach. That's a big help, being from Columbus, to have Brook [Hamilton] with us, to train us and take us through his regimen."

After making his professional debut in a substitute appearance on May 18 at Toronto FC, Barson made 19 more appearances throughout the campaign, including 18 starts. Hoping to make an impact from the get-go in 2014, the Columbus native decided an all-encompassing off-season approach might do the trick on the technical side of his game.

Among his goals included, "get as many touches on the ball as possible and just trying to work on every part of my game," according to Barson. "I'm still a very young player and so anything I can do to improve, I'm going to work on."

The late-session cardio work was also an opportunity for team-building as the staggered start times on the runs allowed for several players to cheer on players and encourage a final boost of energy in the homestretch.

"The two groups that weren't running really helped pushed the guys that were busting their butt for the amount of time that they had to run. That's always an encouragement," continued Barson.

"You see a guy starting to pull away from you who started ahead of you, [you're] trying to catch that guy and not letting the guy behind you catch you."

Barson and Wil Trapp were seen pushing each other in the last portion of the runs, matching almost stride for stride in the homestretch. While it is likely that the 22-year-old would have been equally competing against any of his teammates in the final leg, Barson did admit that having a fellow Homegrown guy to challenge him certainly didn't hurt.

"I think it's great having all of the Homegrowns. We've kind of grown up playing with or against each other and have known each other for most of our playing careers," added Barson.

"When we have each other around, it's kind of like a sibling rivalry, where we don't want to lose to the other guy. They're there to push us and they're there to encourage us.

"We can rely on one another as we have so many times in the past."

GETTING A FEEL FOR EACH OTHER

It may be just three days in but as the team begins to gel, the players and staff have found getting to know each other an enjoyable part of the process of unifying under a shared vision.

"I think the sessions have been going great so far," said Barson. "Everyone has really bought-in to the way Gregg [Berhalter] and the rest of the coaching staff is trying to teach us the way we want to play."

Said Berhalter, "It's been great to have conversations with guys, get to see them on the field. That part has been real fun. It's going well."

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