Think this will be our first starters vs starters game or will RSL tank? Also, I wonder if WB is planning to at least put the final on TV? Probably not :-(
I don't know that they have any reason to tank given where we are in the season, but they are closer to the final playoff spot in the West than we are and they have a game in Austin four days prior, which is the team just ahead of them for the playoff spot. Plus, they have a game against NYCFC three days later, whereas we have a full week off before our Open Cup game and out next game after is four days later at St. Louis. So, they might prioritize the Austin game and we have a little bit of a scheduling advantage from a rest perspective.
Coincidentally - the game we play one week before our USOC Wed. 6:30 game vs RSL in SLC.... is the prior Wed. at 6:30 vs RSL in SLC.
What?! Are you implying that the first time we play an Open Cup match against adults who care, we will get vivisected? How dare you, sir
Absolutely ZERO reason to tank a quarter final in a cup run in this season where like us, it is about all they can hope for. It's gonna be war baby! WAR!!!
Reminder that this upcoming open cup game will be on YouTube and the bleacher report app. On demand options will be available if you miss it.
Well, the question has been answered. RSL swapped out 8 players for their game yesterday (and still got a win at Austin anyway). So they will be playing their first-XI on Wednesday just like we will. So here comes our first test against MLS competition in the USOC.
But It's Austin, right. Kreilac, Musovski, Gomez did see some time and what is also negatively interesting is Rubio Rubin scored a brace and seems to be back to scoring form. Good thing is we have a long stretch for the entire team to prepare against a team WE JUST PLAYED and everybody should know what to expect. We get Chicharito back and if we were smart we either stayed there or figured a way to come back late and get back there early to mitigate the altitude issue as much as possible. Point is there is a chance and Greg and the guys have to know this is about the only chance Galaxy has of winning anything that isn't made out of wood this year. Oh yeah, and the BUMP! GALAXY!!!
Staying there would have been especially smart to further adjust everyone to the altitude. I don’t believe it’s as significant as where the Rapids play but it is significant to where we play and train at home.
It takes 2-3 weeks to acclimatize so staying for one week would be worse than just flying in the night before and leaving after the game. Which is what I believe they are doing.
Ok, I gotta challenge you on that. How is it "worse" "Given time, your body can adapt to the decrease in oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 1-3 days at that altitude." From Princeton U. "Most people are able to travel up to 8,000 feet without the need to acclimate. If you are traveling higher, the Center for Wilderness Safety states it typically takes 1-3 days at an altitude to acclimate. After this, your body will begin to feel normal at that altitude." The acclimation continues after by weeks and months but the initial adjustment is days. We are not talking The Alps. Colorado is a bigger challenge because they are at 6500 feet altitude and SLC is at 4,200. We are at about 1000 feet. Now granted, these are soccer matches in which you run like a horse but major acclimation can be achieved within a week or few days and these guys are top notch athletes. I would have stayed in SLC and trained there but it's the USOC and I don't think Galaxy would want to pay for facilities, food and lodgings.
I think this interview summarizes why soccer players typically either want to train at altitude for a long period or go in and out quickly. The study you cite isn't really dealing with the same kind of activity at altitude. https://ussoccerplayers.com/2009/08/limiting-exposure-at-altitude-the-right-move.html
You know what I wonder is how they know all this. Have they tried it before with say special attention to hydration issues? I used to hike altitude long distance in Colorado looking for abandoned gold mines and we hydrated like maniacs with special mixes of water and electrolyte solutions days before we even flew in. It helps alot. I know it's a different activity but I am at loss here to see these guys just saying (who is saying this BTW?) flying in the same day and flying out somehow is much better. I don't know about that. I always felt the diff at Denver the moment we started walking toward the baggage claim. We all did and we were in ship-shape. Taylor Twellman was talking about it this past weekend that playing in Denver was hard come half time and everybody would just look at each wondering what they were doing. You are going to feel it if the plane lands right outside the stadium. Also, here they are talking about Azteca. That's 7300+. It's a different animal altogether. That's near the 8,000 limit where everybody is going to have trouble breathing fine. Again, Rio Tinto is at 4200 feet going from 1000 here. A diff of 3200 feet. It's not the same. You can tell me a team going there early is not going to help or make it "worse" off no matter the activity but that has not been my experience. Anyway, GALAXY!!!
Did you click on the link for the full article? This is the intro to the interview On Wednesday, we spoke with Dr. James Stray-Gundersen, one of the experts on altitude training for athletes. Dr. Stray-Gundersen has served as physician/physiologist for the US Cross-Country Ski Team and was a team physician for Norway’s Olympic Team in 2002. He is the co-author of “Live Hi/Train Low” now considered the defining study on altitude training for sea level performance. He was one of the experts attending and presenting at a FIFA symposium on altitude. MLS teams have been playing at RSL for years, so I'm sure they all have their own data on this as well.
Props to Benny for finding the article I read a long time ago and would never have been able to find and would have just replied with: "I read it once upon a time." And my memory was slightly off- I said "2-3 weeks" and the quote from the expert was "2-4 weeks". Here is the pertinent part. Thanks Benny!! " Around the 3rd or 4th day, the body starts responding to these acclimatization changes and starts to come back towards normal. By 10 days to two weeks, players are close (but not completely back) to sea level status. In studies on running performance, runners initially (~ day 5) ran 6% slower at an altitude of 5900 ft and steadily improved over 4 weeks to run only 3% slower (day 26) than they did at sea level. In an attempt to keep blood pH normal, the body starts putting bicarbonate (HCO3-) in the urine and that causes a diuresis. In addition, the body loses plasma volume. Both these processes lead to a dehydrated and under-performing player. USSoccerPlayers: What is the best way to acclimate an athlete to altitude? The best preparation for performing in an altitude environment is living in an altitude environment. One could live in Aspen, Colorado or Park City, Utah or Flagstaff, Arizona, or one could live at “artificial altitude” by converting their bedroom or sleeping in a hypoxic tent. If those things are not an option, the next best thing is a 2-4 week camp at altitude prior to the match. "
Crazy that the article was in preparation for the 2010 World Cup and US players prepping to play at altitude in South Africa.
OIC, so the good doctor sees no benefit in a few days drinking in the atmosphere. Goes against all my experience listening and following pro climbers and such but so be it. Me and the doc can agree to disagree. So drop the guys off with parachutes. Whatever, as long as they win.