A funny thing happened to Jason Kreis last season, and it had nothing to do with being traded by the Dallas Burn after nine seasons. For the first time in years, surgery and the ensuing rehabilitation wasn't on Kreis' agenda at the conclusion of the Major League Soccer season.

Instead, he simply played his final game, jumped in his car and drove home.

The all-time leading scorer in MLS history decided to treat his new-found health as a new lease on his career — one that many critics said was on the decline.

Now, seven weeks away from opening day of the 2005 season, the 32-year-old Kreis says he's fitter than he's ever been, which could ultimately be a big boost to Real Salt Lake.

"If Jason keeps doing the things he's always done, that's great," said fellow RSL striker Clint Mathis. "But if he can come in here fitter and better than what he was before. That's a huge bonus to this team."

This past Sunday, after scoring two goals against Columbus in his first full 90-minute scrimmage of training camp in Tampa, Fla., Kreis said he was ready to play again.

"I honestly haven't felt this good in years," said Kreis.

It's amazing what a healthy body and hours of training will do. During the offseason, even before Dallas traded him to the expansion Real Salt Lake franchise, Kreis was already spending hours a day prepping for his 10th season in the league.

"This offseason, I worked extremely hard and spent a lot of time in the gym and spent time with some extremely good trainers," said Kreis. "I worked very hard to get to the fitness level I'm at now."

During a magazine photo shoot at Rice-Eccles Stadium in December, Kreis was asked to change out of his existing shirt and into a Real Salt Lake T-shirt. RSL goalie D.J. Countess — one of the team's funny guys — was shocked at how defined the muscles in Kreis' upper-body were, and jokingly prevented Kreis from slipping on his T-shirt so he could admire the veteran's physique.

Mathis noticed the same thing when he arrived at training camp last week. "I told him 'you look younger than you did six years ago,' " said Mathis.

As noticeable as his chiseled exterior is to teammates and coaches, Kreis says he feels even better on the inside. Just as he was ready to play another 90 minutes after leading RSL past Columbus Sunday, Kreis said he's felt the same way after every practice since training camp opened Feb. 1.

"There really hasn't been a day I've gone home from training with extremely sore legs, and when you do that you can recover quicker and keep your mind fresher," said Kreis.

Maintaining that fresh attitude is the same way he feels about the season.