Well I made it to watch the training on Saturday, and while there wasn't a lot to see, I can say a few things: Carrieri looks much different with hair-I wasn't sure it was him until I saw the earrings; Seth Trembly has his sports confused-he was sporting a 1940's Bobby Jones Golfing look; ZiZi is BIG and looks like he could be mean. When players didn't go where he thought they should, he gave them one heck of an evil eye. He looks like, at least at this early stage, the kind of player we needed so badly last year to make things happen in the box on set pieces. At the very least, he will certainly clear out space around the area he is standing; Grimandi was still not there yet though he was announced to appear by Feb.1. I hope it is just a problem with the old work permit. It was exciting, and rekindled my fire. I wish we didn't have to wait so long for the season to start.
There were no obvious new goalies. Garlick was there and seemed quite fit. There was another fairly short goalie, and without meaning to slight him, others on the side thought he was training camp fodder. No one knew who he was. Hart was not there, as well as Spenny. Beckerman, wild hair and all, was there and looked good. I don't know how he fits in, in the Rapids scheme of things, but he seems to have skills. The draft choices looked like draft choices, meaning pretty new to what is going on. The most assertive of those seemed to be Jason Cole, but the nature of things at practice didn't give too much opportunity for anyone to shine. Most of the players played in a large four sided game with Trittschuh watching. There didn't seem to be much instruction there, just time keeping. A smaller group of 8 played in front of Hankinson, where they worked on possession, and where Hankinson instructed them on what he would like to see happening. Every 10 minutes, a new group rotated in from the big game. At the end, they played a sort of scrimmage, but it was on a small field, and was very crowded. No Matt Jordan there! Not many fans there, either. In their defense, it was unbelievably windy. Not a great day for sitting and observing. Still, it leaves me wishing for more!! Is it April yet!!!!
I didn't think that Cole made much of an impression. His skills were so-so and he turned an ankle in the mini scrimmage and didn't get back in the game. Sat on the side for about 20 minutes. Now, he might have been hurt enough but it doesn't make a good impression on your coaches when you sit after that. He has to be playing to be seen. I think Blake and Crawford made a pretty good impression with their hustle and goals. Blake especially. With his versatility, I think there will be a spot for him on the team.
Although it's still a bit early to pass heavy judgment on players, at the end of the first week you can start to see a few patterns forming. My opinions from Saturday, in no particular order, mostly focusing on the new blood... I too didn't think that Cole showed much on Saturday before his injury. I've heard Hankinson was very optimistic when drafting him, with the opinion that the kid has real wheels and will burn it up the flanks, overlapping out of the defense. Have also heard that after the first week of training, Hankinson is still waiting to see Cole do just that. As for his injury, word is that he rolled it on Saturday and was expected to return to training on Monday/Tuesday. Personal opinion here, but I don't think it shows badly on him that he got hurt and sat out -- at this stage of the preseason, I imagine that Hankinson would rather see a player seek medical attention/advice for this kind of injury. Staying off it for a day or two to let it heal is better than playing injured for a week or more. I also agree with joeyclams that Blake showed extremely well during training, both during possession drills as well as the short-sided scrimmage. He's very quick and looks great in tight space. His spin and shot that joeyclams mentioned was of very high quality. I was not as impressed with Crawford, however that's not to say this kid isn't looking good. He was in constant motion and one of the hardest workers on the field, and his volley from the outside of the foot was a classy strike indeed. There are definitely some aspects of this kid that remind me of Stewart at this time last year, and Lance Key during his first preseason with the Rapids. Zizi looked much more comfortable on the ball and with the players around him than he did on Thursday. Both in possession drills and in the short-sided scrimmage, the guy is an immovable force when he has possession -- yet maintains a very lithe touch with the ball. He made a number of very smart passes, but more than anything the guy sure could finish his opportunities. Put at least four in the net on Saturday, definitely the high scorer on the field. I didn't notice him laboring in terms of fitness, but admittedly I would not have noticed this from any player unless they dropped to their knees, clutching their chest for air. Mystery Hispanic Left Back continued to play well, although did not appear as strong or controlled as he did in Thursday's scrimmage. Big difference on Saturday is that the players all began calling him by a name -- Rizzo. His one-touch passing was extremely accurate, he looked one of the best in during the 4v4+1 box drill. From what I've heard, he's currently 23 -- turning 24 in a month or so -- and that the Rapids have him on trial for a couple of weeks before they're going to need to make a decision. Have also heard that he's connected with a major Mexican team. I hate to harsh on anyone at this stage, but Jackson looked a little flat out there. He's either missing a real edge or a touch of fitness; in any event, he wasn't particularly impressive. Hopefully he's off to a slow start and will ramp it up in Florida or Guadalajara. Conversely, I felt Trembly has looked better this preseason (both Thursday and Saturday) than he ever has. Although his hiked-up, ready-for-a-flood pants cuffs were a bit distracting, he is coming off as a much more serious, dedicated and attentive player in training. Whether it's a result of coaches (Hanksin/Myernick/etc) instilling this new attitude during the offseason or simply a matter of maturing in age, he's hardly the player that could often be seen goofing off on occasion during training. End result is that he's looking a lot better during the run of play, with a number of good passes, shots and defensive marking. He's not at the level where he should be a top-choice substitute, but he doesn't look like he's resting on his P40 status anymore. Was great to see Garlick back in action, facing the complete range of shots and crosses again. Only one I recall getting by him was Crawford's shot, which was completely unstoppable. Hard to pass any judgment on other goalkeepers at this point, aside that I disagree with smudjeyjoe in that these guys are hardly "training camp fodder." Short of Jordan (or another massively experienced keeper) signing with the Rapids, each one of these guys currently has an equal shot at winning the backup job, especially McGinty who's shown very well for both DC and Richmond over the past few seasons. Only potential downside to McGinty is his age (31), so if the Rapids are looking for a young upstart of a keeper to develop he's going to face an uphill battle. Chung wins MVP of the day. The guy was easily the class on the field and looked unstoppable, especially during the short-sided scrimmage where he totally dominated midfield play. Joeyclams and I kept shaking our heads at his ability to maintain possession of the ball during even the hardest challenges, many of which were double-teams. If this is his preseason benchmark, he may be in line for a career year in 2003. Beckerman also looked solid. Some very nice moves and fakes on the ball, the kind you definitely see out of younger players, however he never seemed to blow possession needlessly and played a lot of excellent delivery. If he shows improvement from here, it'll be all but a requirement for Hankinson to start giving him 15-20 minutes a game come the second half of the season. All in all, this has been the second positive practice in a row that I've attended and we're barely into February -- and the team has still been without Spenny, Grimandi, and Pablo. For years we've said that this player or that player have real potential, but for the first time I've got an immense feeling that the Rapids have massive potential as a complete team. Take a long lunch, call in sick or do whatever you have to in order to get out to training one of these days. Aside from seeing the pace and intensity up close, it's a remarkable opportunity that won't be around forever.
Only thing I disagree with is the Cole injury. While he may not have been able to get back on the field due to his injury, he should have made Hanki or Tritt make that decision. He went off to the side and was looked at by a trainer but never got to his feet and walked/trotted/jogged over to where the rest of the team were sitting. By doing this, he would have shown that he wanted to get back on the field, which he should. As a rookie, he can't afford to be on the sidelines, especially when it appears to be his decision. In any case, I think he should have joined his teammates on the far side of the field. This is just my opinion. I just thought it looked bad for him to sit out and away from his teammates. Otherwise, Greenie's assessment of training was spot on. I'm amazed at Chung's skill, and to use an English saying, Beckerman's 'cheek.' Some of the stuff he pulled was down right nasty.
schedule? The Rapidfire I got a while back said the team would be practicing at W'minster through the 1st. Now that it's past the 1st, what is their training schedule?
The training schedule simply isn't 100% in stone at this point -- some days they will be in the gym only, some days playing indoor (at the Bubble or Amaya), and other days outdoor, as soon as the snow is cleared off the field. I would imagine that as soon as they have a schedule they can stick more closely to, it will be revealed either in Rapidfire or in this forum. They're training in Colorado until approximately February 18th, when they depart for a stint in Florida (along with most other MLS teams). Following that they're on to Guadalajara. I've also heard rumors of a preseason exhibition in a southwestern state other than Colorado.
Are they still starting at 10am most days? I had planned to head out once or twice this week, but it looks like another round of snow later this week, so who knows... Anyone know if/when they're at Amaya this week (I don't know what 'the Bubble' is)? Speaking of information that should be available... why the hell is it still impossible to get subscribed to RapidFire via the site? I lost the old email address I had subscribed with and email to the "webmaster" alias on the site gets lost in the ether.
For the most part they are training at 10AM, that's one of the only factors they can truly control. As for everything else, it's not being determined too far in advance and sometimes changed that same morning. The Bubble is the Family Sports Center, the large indoor athletic facility south of Denver. It's off I25/Arapahoe/Peoria. They have a couple of indoor fields including a nice 90x60 field (or something like that) with FieldTurf installed. The Broncos train there regularly. From the outside it looks like a giant bubble.
Who is ZiZi? I thought I knew MLS rosters pretty well. Went to MLSnet.com to see if I could figure out. Only "Z" I noticed was Zach Kingsley? It still seems so familiar? James
Guilty!!! I was hoping to stir up a little response in regards to Saturday's practice. I definitely don't know the new players well enough to critique them. I stupidly told a lady next to me that Cole was Crawford, or vice versa. Two people next to me made the comment about goalies and training camp fodder. I think it was made primarily because they didn't know anyone except for Garlick. What I really was hoping was to see what really knowledgeable observers had to say. I truly love soccer, and watch it all I can,particularly on Fox Sports World, but I am too old to have played, preceding the NASL. I grew up when the only soccer in Denver was the Denver Kickers, and the Denver Bears were the darlings of all sportsfans' hearts. I fell in love with the game watching my son grow up as a player. As he went from rec to competitive to very competitive, I learned much more. This is why BigSoccer, and formerly Rapidspeak were so valuable to me. I can see glaring things, (the fact that we didn't have tall enough players to compete in the box last year) but I don't know enough technically to pass any judgement. I truly appreciate all the info I can gather here, and appreciate the presence of contributors like Greenie, Norcal, and the many others that contribute faithfully. (Greenie, are you going to change your handle to Black and Bluie?). I look forward anxiously to this new season, and look forward to hearing from all of you. Thanks Very Much!!!!!
I agree with Greenie about Chung being the MVP of the session, IMO he really stood out from the other players with his skill.
all this talk about beckerman makes me very happy for him. with the injury and subsequent lack of playing time for miami, i think his growth as a player was severely stunted. i head a lot about him before he came to mls and when i'd see him play (albeit very briefly) for the fusion and rapids, he had moments of pure genius. his time with the U23s over the summer has definitely done something for his confidence, which is what he really needs. imo if he gets a coach that will give him a serious chance challenging for a MF position, then he really take it. his kind of talent reminds me of jobrien -- i just wish he had the kind of coaching and learning that job got at AJAX. it's about time that beckerman realizes that he has a real chance to make a dent to the full NAT roster.
Does anyone know when (or IF) the next practice will be held before the team takes off? Debating on going out and having an early look.
They were scheduled to practice this morning, then take Sun and Mon off before flying to FL. on Tues. Don't know if the white stuff changed that, but I would guess that today was just called off and they'll have an extra day hanging out at home. Zizi has already flown home for a couple extra family days, and a few guys like Spenny and Garlick have sat out the last couple sessions, so I can't imagine a make-up training being held.
The team was scheduled to take Saturday and Sunday off, with only fitness training on Monday before flying to Florida on Tuesday. FWIW, snow or other inclement weather only means that they train indoors. But believe me, they still train. Hard. Both Garlick and Spenny have sat out recently to nurse slight injuries. Nothing serious, just not something to push in the preseason.