As practice winds down, it is not uncommon to see a group of New York Red Bulls standing around a circle with a soccer ball. They're often pointing, laughing at each other and trash talking.
Usually, the commotion is about Two-Touch, a game where participants stand in a circle, juggling the ball twice in the air before passing it off to another person. And in Darwinian fashion, the one who makes the fewest mistakes (when the ball hits the ground because of them) is deemed the winner.
It's a simple game, really. But, deciding the team's overall champion is a more difficult proposition.
Midfielder Danny O'Rourke has held the title for the last couple of days before usurpers to his throne such as midfielder Joe Vide, assistant coach Richie Williams and defender Carlos Mendes have battled back and forth with him for the crown.
And O'Rourke does not hold his punches against any of his competitors.
"Playing against someone of lesser skill like Joe, I know he's just a rookie in the league, but I'm not here to just teach him," O'Rourke says with Vide standing next to him.
"It's just a lot of fun, it's something we do after practice to cool down," Vide says. "Danny and I treat our competition [by] buying each other lunches on who wins everyday. I think I'm up 10 or so."
"I'm up so many lunches that he's buying me dinners," O'Rourke rebuts.
Perhaps the most competitive Two-Touch player, according to some of the Red Bulls, is Williams. Since Williams is a coach and is the oldest, he says he's the one who makes the rules, so they have to obey.
He classifies O'Rourke as "the dirtiest player," Mendes as they guy who "doesn't move, doesn't help anybody out," Vide as just "average" and everyone else as "normal." As for him?
"Well, it's a very competitive, very serious game and I'm obviously the best one at it out of all of those guys, so I let them know that," Williams says.
"Richie is good, but he's always causing controversy and [making] people fight with each other," says defender Jeff Parke. "He [penalizes] people for getting the wrong touches or getting too many touches."
Parke says that O'Rourke is "by far" the dirtiest player because he does no-look passes and hits the ball towards people's shins - "he's the one that gets everyone riled up."
Meanwhile, O'Rourke says that Parke gets mad because he "plays it to Parke's feet" which is his Achilles heel of Two-Touch.
According to some players, there is some common etiquette involved in Two-Touch, but once the circle whittles down, honor and victory do not necessarily coexist.
"You try not to do volleys at each other, but towards the end of the game, it gets that way and people take it more seriously and they start wailing it back at each other so it's fun," Parke says.
During Wednesday's practice, other players such as defender Marvell Wynne, goalkeeper Mike Behonick and midfielder Elie Ikangu joined in the festivities. Just like most things, O'Rourke says that on any given day, anyone can win. Williams says readily that he has experienced that glorious feeling on many occasions.
"I definitely have the most rings, most championships," he says. "They're just trying to catch me everyday and it gets very competitive because people get very jealous when you are the champion."
However, in the end, there are many practical reasons why Two-Touch is helpful for the Red Bulls. Vide notes that after a tough day of training, it is good to hone your skills while you're tired by playing a game such as Two-Touch because it potentially simulates what it would be like if you were playing in the final moments of a real game.
"It helps your competitive side, getting your touches in, arranging the feet before the ball is coming to you," Parke says.
"Just doing stuff after practice is over is important. It's good to joke around and have fun with it," Williams says.
And having fun with it is probably the only thing that the participants can agree on.
