Dallas Sueno MLS 2008 continued on Saturday, but at the end of a training session at Pizza Hut Park for the final 18 participants remaining, the field was not pared down further. That will happen next weekend but that doesn't mean that Saturday's training was anything less than a spirited affair.
FC Dallas director of youth development Chris Clarke, who led the group in the session, elaborated on what the practice would entail for the final 18 before the session.
"The goalkeepers will work with a goalkeeper coach for about 45 minutes to an hour to get themselves prepared for the final exercise," Clarke said. "We're going to put them through an FC Dallas preseason, which will be similar to the preseason sessions we've done so far.
"That is the same purpose why we're doing this match, to prepare them to play competitive games. We'll work with the field players, then on team shape and then on set pieces. At the end, we'll play them in a final 9-v-9 scrimmage."
Originally, Saturday's session was scheduled for between 3 and 5 p.m. But after a snowstorm moved through north Texas on Thursday, covering the fields surrounding Pizza Hut Park, the Sueno event was first moved to Sunday before being shifted back to Saturday. Participants took to the field at 6 p.m. for a two-hour training session set to conclude at 8 p.m.
Next Saturday, the final 18 will gather once again to play in a match but Clarke wasn't at liberty to reveal who their opposition will be.
"We've got a couple of teams in the works," Clarke said. "Whichever group comes through, it will be a very competitive game. I will say one thing, we'll be comparing apples to apples. The best way to get a look to see who we're going to take through as Sueno finalists is to do that."
Clarke sees that game as a key part of determining which players will remain as the three Dallas Sueno finalists.
"This game will certainly help us make some final decisions because it will be a competitive game," he said. "That will allow the cream to really rise. Progressively, the competition has been getting better after the first two weeks.
"But we're going to be able to see how they perform in an organized game under pressure. That's where the talent will come through and we'll be able to say which ones have really shown up and have confirmed our initial thoughts."
His rationale behind the day's training is simple.
"The purpose of [Saturday's] training session is to prepare the group for a competitive game," Clarke said. "So far, they've been in a strange environment where they were playing with people they don't normally play with and playing in positions that they don't normally play in."
With this the third weekend of Sueno, Clarke clearly wants to change things up a bit with the remaining players.
"This being their third outing, we're trying to consolidate the group a little bit more," he said. "The training session is going to look at how they operate as a group. We will look to see how we can maximize the talents of the group against the opposition, which will be an organized team that will play together. We want to make sure that we can prepare the guys as best we can."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
