Weekly update: Island life

CARSON, Calif. - The Los Angeles Galaxy departed yesterday for a week of preseason training on the island of Bermuda. The club will play its first game against a fellow MLS side on Thursday afternoon when it takes on the New England Revolution. The radio broadcast of Thursday's game against New England will be streamed live on the web (www.revolutionsoccer.net) meaning that Galaxy fans can hear all the action from Bermuda starting at 3:30 p.m. (PT). The very next day, Frank Yallop's team will play its second and final game of the trip against the Bermudan National Team before heading back to the West Coast on Sunday.

Galaxy Weekly Training Schedule (All times Pacific)

Date Time/Location Tuesday, Feb. 20 7:30 a.m. - Galaxy training in Bermuda Wednesday, Feb. 21 7:30 a.m. - Galaxy training in Bermuda Thursday, Feb. 22 3:30 p.m. - Galaxy vs. New England Revolution at National Sports Centre Friday, Feb. 23 2 p.m. - Galaxy vs. Bermuda National Team Saturday, Feb. 24 7:30 a.m. - Galaxy training in Bermuda Sunday, Feb. 25 2:10 p.m. - Return to Los Angeles
TWENTY-SEVEN MAKE THE TRIP:
A total of 27 players made the trip to Bermuda with the Galaxy, for the club's first voyage away from The Home Depot Center during the 2007 preseason. Head Coach Frank Yallop has taken his entire available squad on this trip as he continues to get the team ready for its 2007 MLS opener against Houston on Sunday, April 8. A complete traveling roster is below.

Defender Nathan Sturgis and midfielder Quavas Kirk did not accompany the team to Bermuda and instead traveled to Japan with the U.S. Under-23 National Team for the Kirin Challenge Cup. Both players are expected to be back in training with the Galaxy for the club's first training session back in Southern California on Monday, Feb. 26.

Also not traveling to Bermuda was defender Kevin Long. Long remained in California, having elected to finish his college course work at the University of San Francisco rather than join the squad for preseason.

Roster by Position Goalkeepers (2) - Joe Cannon, Steve Cronin. Defenders (9) - Chris Albright, Ty Harden, Ante Jazic, Zack Kirby, Gordon Kljestan, Tyrone Marshall, Kiel G. McClung, Troy Roberts, Kyle Veris. Midfielders (9) - Josh Gardner, Kevin Harmes, Cobi Jones, Kyle Martino, Santino Quaranta, Mike Randolph, John Thorrington, Josh Tudela, Pete Vagenas. Forwards (7) - Robert Burling, Landon Donovan, Robert Findley, Gavin Glinton, Alan Gordon, Nate Jaqua, Laurent Merlin.

FIRST DAY OF ISLAND TRAINING COMPLETED: The Galaxy held their first training in Bermuda today at the National Sports Complex, home of the Bermuda National Team and the Bermuda Hogges, a new USL Second Division expansion team that will start play on the island this season. Under cloudy and breezy conditions, the Galaxy began the training session with a 5v2 warmup. Head Coach Frank Yallop put his whistle down and participated in the session, showing many of the club's newer faces and reminding the veterans that he could still perform against his team's top talent. After a short meeting, the team broke up into groups for 20 minutes of fitness training before ending the session with a series of intersquad scrimmages.

ONE-ON-ONE WITH FRANK YALLOP: After today's training session, lagalaxy.com caught up with the Galaxy head coach to ask him some questions about his early impressions on Bermuda and his team...

What is the plan for the next seven days of training in Bermuda? "It is a good time to get away and talk individually to the players. We've had a good couple of weeks in Los Angeles and now it is time for a bit of team bonding. We have a couple of games against the New England Revolution and the Bermuda National Team that we will play here. That will help me take a closer look at some of the players, and start to narrow down positions."

How do you feel after the first day of training in Bermuda? "I feel good. The guys are ready to train and get a good game. Some guys are nursing some injuries, but in general I am quite pleased."

How will you approach the two friendlies this week? "At the moment myself and the coaching staff are still looking at players. We will work with some sort of a team formation, but will still be mixed up a little bit. The strongest lineup will be present against the Revolution. It will be good to see how we do. I think we played well against UCLA, so I am looking for continued good play. I also want to get plenty of play in for some the guys here."

PERFECT START TO PRESEASON: Prior to departing for Bermuda, the Galaxy played a pair of preseason scrimmages against local college teams. These were the first two games of the year against outside opposition and saw Frank Yallop's squad collect a pair of impressive victories.

On Thursday, Robbie Findley and Laurent Merlin scored on either side of halftime to give the Galaxy a 2-0 win over Loyola Marymount. Steve Cronin kept a clean sheet in that game and Joe Cannon did so a day later as the Galaxy knocked off UCLA 3-0. Landon Donovan and Alan Gordon each tallied first half goals to give L.A. a 2-0 lead before Josh Gardner put the game away in the second half with his team's third and final goal.

GALAXY FANTASY CAMP TO AIR ON UNIVISION THIS WEEKEND: The final two segments of Univision's first hand look at the Galaxy Adult Fantasy Camp will air this weekend. Univision's own Enrique Gutiérrez participated in the Galaxy Adult Fantasy Camp in December and had a camera crew follow and monitor his progress during the four-day camp. A number of Galaxy coaches and luminaries were on hand throughout the camp, giving instruction to the campers and giving them insight into the lives of a MLS player.

The final two parts of this feature, which first aired last weekend, will air during the 6 p.m. newscasts on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25, only on Univision 34.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2007 PRESEASON SCHEDULE