With very few roster spots up for grabs, the intensity and pace of Seattle Sounders FC training camp is heating up. For evidence, just look at Brad Evans' or Osvaldo Alonso's shins.
As the first week of Sounders FC practice came to a close, players were rewarded after two consecutive days of fitness testing with an 11-v-11 scrimmage. Players weren't going easy, as both Alonso and Evans were victims of crunching slide tackles courtesy of Mike Seamon and Sanna Nyassi, respectively.
Play had to be stopped so trainers could attend to the fallen players, who were able to shake off the injuries. However, the incidents erased any doubts regarding to the ferocity of the competition.
"For the first day out it was good," said Seattle coach Sigi Schmid. "There were a couple of mistimed tackles. We got a few shins bruised because we had a couple of guys had bad first touches so they decided to kick the opponent instead of kicking themselves."
Every major contributor besides Sebastien Le Toux is back in 2010, meaning a spot on the roster will be tough to come by. The cupboard is full -- draftees Michael Fucito and Lamar Neagle are back, as are two players who spent most of last season on the training table: Taylor Graham and Jarrod Smith.
A handful of other trialists will join the team in Arizona, adding pressure on players to perform even at this early stage. The players are responding. Smith and Graham, in particular, let the coaching staff know their injuries are behind them by engaging in some physical battles on the very first day of camp.
After sitting out most of last season with a variety of injuries, Graham is back in camp and battling for a role in Seattle's already well-manned back line. According to Graham, this year's training camp has been completely different than one year ago.
"This year, the whole complexion is different than last year," said Graham, who was one of two players singled out by Schmid for playing well in the scrimmage. "Now we are building on what we've built for a year.
"What Sigi preached to us last year was that playing against teams like Houston in the postseason, teams that have played together for six years. ... we were playing catch up from the beginning. We're trying to build on the momentum from last year."
The imminent departure of two players should ease the roster pressure in the short term. Villanova's Mike Seamon will leave Sounders camp to finish his education while he is still under scholarship. Schmid said Gonzaga's Tye Perdido will likely do the same, although the big forward has had a respectable showing in Sounders FC green. Neither player is expected to be with Seattle when they head to training camp in Arizona.
Even with those two players leaving, Schmid agreed that the competition is tougher than one year ago.
"Last year we were running through so many players early, I think this (training camp) is a lot more competitive already," Schmid said. "I think the caliber and the level of play is already pretty sharp and intense."
"There are still a lot of jobs open. There are guys from last year's team that are competing to stay on the team. Obviously there are new guys trying to get on. I think it is already much more competitive than it was at this early stage last year."
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
