From Deseret News archives:
Real Salt Lake opens '07 practice
Ellinger impressed with his players in conditioning drills
While most newcomers were a bit reserved with their new teammates, that wasn't the case with Adu, who even managed to tease veteran Jason Kreis after he posted a very average vertical jump.
"The team is great, the guys are great, and coach is awesome," said Adu, who RSL acquired in an offseason trade with D.C. United. "I know most of the guys, and that makes it easy to fit in. You see me around here joking around with the guys, and it's because I know them."
If that camaraderie carries over to the field this year, 2007 could be a breakthrough year for Real Salt Lake.
"You look down the list and we're looking pretty strong this year," said Real captain Jason Kreis. "We're continuing to make improvements."
RSL coach John Ellinger was particularly pleased with the first day of RSL's two-month training camp, which was used almost exclusively to test the players' conditioning. He said the 40-yard sprint times were "unbelievable," with many of the guys ranging between 4.5 and 4.8. He also noticed that many of the players seemed quicker and fitter than they did a year ago, which is very encouraging
"For us, it's crucial we need to get off to a good start and we needed the guys to come in fit, so I'm happy with what I'm seeing," said Ellinger.
RSL will be in Utah all week before heading to Orlando for a two-week stretch that includes six preseason games. The club will then head to Madrid, Spain, for two more weeks of training until March 9. During the final month before opening day on April 7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Real will train in Los Angeles, Fresno, St. George and Las Vegas.
During Real's two-month training camp stretch last year, the club trained outside the state almost exclusively, which Kreis believes took a big toll on the players.
"In my honest opinion, (training camp) is too long," said Kreis. "I understand the reasoning for starting because you've been off for three months, but I think it wears on and I think by the end of it you're almost a little fatigued.
"I've seen it over the past couple years going into that first game, and really lacking that emotion you need."
Kreis was among several players and coaches who made reference to that first game on Monday. In the past two years, Real has struggled out of the gate with a combined 0-3-1 record, but everyone agrees that must change.
"The key is to get off to a good start. I think you get off to a good start, then confidence starts spreading and the guys start believing," said Adu.
For every player, the most dreaded part of the first day of training camp is the beep test. It's a fitness drill in which the players are required to run for upwards of 10 minutes, increasing their pace ever so slightly every 10 seconds. The players push themselves as long as they can and then stop.
As expected, players like Mehdi Ballouchy, Jason Kreis and Chris Klein lasted the longest. Two additional players made a big impression. Trialist Scott Palguta, who played for the Rochester Rhinos of the USL First Division last year, finished in the top four, while second-year player Duke Hashimoto also turned in a quality time.
"I notice it right off the bat — it's hard not to," said Ellinger.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com
