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A Bright Future Ahead for Chivas USA

August 6, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


On Sunday evening, Chivas USA's demonstrated once again the huge positive development that the Youth Academy has had ever since Director Sacha van der Most rejoined the club. The Red-and-White earned their first youth title since 2005 thanks to Chivas USA's U23 Team winning the State Championship on Sunday at San Luis Obispo. With the victory, the U-23 finished the tournament undefeated with an outstanding 12-game streak.

"This is the first year that the League has and I really feel that it has potential to continue growing. For us, we had the potential to get this going, and to get a team together that represents this club so well; if you look at them, there are a lot of players that have history with the club already," Sacha van der Most commented about the U23 Team.

What Van der Most is referring to is the number of players that stuck with the club even after their last year with the Academy. Before the creation of the U23 team, players from the U18 squad without contract only have the option of pursuing a collegiate career. But now, players from the oldest categories of the Academy can be promoted onto the U23 and perhaps someday, to the First Team.

"Just the existence of the U23 team, for me, it's very important because now our 16's and 18's can play up and in competitive games. It's not the same as when you play in a friendly game, now you can play in competitive matches, and that's really good for the club. Of course it's nice that you win a championship, but the most important thing for me is that we have a tool to continue developing players," Van der Most said.

On Monday evening, the future of the Red-and-White hit the Bell Gardens Sports Complex as Chivas USA's U14, U16 and U18 Teams began their preseason. Said teams will be participating in U.S. Soccer Development Academy that is set to begin in September.

For all the latest news and updates on Chivas USA's Youth Academy, follow us on Twitter: @ChivasUSAYouth & @cdchivasusa .

Chivas USA begin preparations for Sunday's final meeting against Colorado Rapids

Chivas USA returned to full squad training on Tuesday to kick off their work week ahead of Sunday's Western Conference clash at 8:00 p.m. (PT) with the Colorado Rapids at the StubHub Center. The session began with a light jog around SHC's Field 6 and a series of ability work through cones and team stretches for added warm-ups.

The group was then divided in two with each squad occupying half of the pitch. Under the watch of Head Coach Jose Luis Real and his two assistant coaches, one of the groups completed distribution and touch drills around obstacle dummies. Once each player played a pass to his teammate he would rotate around the field obstacle to occupy the vacated space as his teammate would pass off the ball in similar fashion.

Meanwhile, the complementary group ran through conditioning drills under Strength and Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho on the far side of the field. The players ran around half the pitch from corner to corner in groups of three which varied at times with bursts of speed and light trotting.

Afterwards the groups alternated drills and completed the supplementary workout. Meanwhile the goalkeepers worked off to the side with Goalkeeper Coach Claine Plummer in front of goal stopping shots from short distances.

The session culminated with seven-on-seven scrimmages in reduced spaces, with the three groups of seven rotating once being scored on. Players were then dismissed after concluding a series of stretches as part of their cool down session.

The basics of sports nutrition

An athlete's nutrition becomes just as important as their daily training and preparation, since any nutritional deficiency or unbalances could lead to facing another handicap or even worse, to suffering an injury during the game.

It's for that reason that Chivas USA Strength and Conditioning Coach Armando Camacho pays very close attention to his players' nutrition. Therefore, he works closely with a group of nutritionists to decide what type of ingredients and types of foods the Goats need to eat each day.

"The player's nutrition varies a lot depending on the physical fatigue suffered during the session, the training unit or during the entire week," explained Camacho. "Despite each player being different, and therefore needing their own independent diet, in general, their nutrition should be rich in carbohydrates, proteins, fruits and veggies for fiber."

The objective of any player, be they a professional for Chivas USA on their way to Sunday's game against the Colorado Rapids or one of our supporters playing in their community league, is to make sure their body is ready to fully perform in each game and in each activity or daily routine.

On a daily basis, the Red-and-White head to the training fields early in the morning, so their breakfast is one of the most important meals of their day. Just like some of the club's supporters who like to exercise in the mornings, nutritionists recommend to eat breakfast at least two hours before doing any physical activity, and even more important, to never play sports without having eaten anything first.

"We recommend they eat something at 7 a.m., either a shake, a sandwich or some eggs, a light but nice breakfast, so they can come and perform at training," suggested the coach. "We recommend not doing any physical activity right as we wake up, but if you have no other option, drink a shake as soon as you wake up, cause not doing can damage the body and therefore the performance, since the body starts grabbing the enzymes from the muscles so they can perform at full capacity."

At the end of the week, Camacho explains to cdchivasusa.com, how when prepping for the game, we have to start working on our nutrition as early as the day before the match, "with a dinner rich in carbohydrates with pasta and protein, either chicken or a portion of fish, with a side of salad or veggie soup."

The routine of the Red-and-White player on game day starts at the team's hotel, where besides studying the opponent, the coaches make sure the players' meals are spread throughout the day and that there is enough time for them to digest all the nutrients properly before it.

"Breakfast should be nutritional with protein via eggs or in a turkey sandwich, but then at lunch return to pasta, chicken and fish four hours before the game. Preferably the players won't eat red meat before a game, since it takes longer to digest and the fatigue makes it harder to eliminate the toxins that accumulate in the body," said Camacho.

Following these advices, the players should be at 100% to jump on the main pitch at the StubHub Center where at 8 p.m. (PT) on Sunday, Chivas USA will face the Rapids. But before doing that, they will need to make sure the players are not only properly fed but hydrated.

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