On another stellar day in Madrid, RSL players worked long and hard at both 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The morning session was one of the longest of the entire preseason, primarily for players who did not go 60-90 minutes in yesterday's 2-2 tie vs. Rayo Vallecano. The session featured multiple drills, small-sided play, some goalmouth finishing and then lots of running. Willis Forko and Atiba Harris shook off yesterday's travels quickly. Harris scored on his first touch in front of the goal. The afternoon session featured a possession exercise followed by a unique 11-v-11 game emphasizing possession by one squad and extreme defensive pressure by the other.
Chris Brown, Jason Kreis, Jamie Watson and Christian Jimenez all shook off the week's illnesses and injuries to partake in the final game.
Like he does each day, Coach Peter Mellor took Nick Rimando, Chris Seitz and Kyle Reynish through their daily workouts. For much of this week they have been joined by Jeff Rowland and Nik Besagno at times - each well enough to spray shots on goal, but neither ready to train alongside their teammates. There was no shortage of sweat (and laughter!) as the three keepers worked on footwork, agility and shot-stopping today.
Saturday the team has one training session before taking to the Sport City's immaculate gymnasium for weight training.
