WASHINGTON ā Almost a month after their final regular-season match, D.C. Unitedās squad ran through their last training session of 2010 in mild, windy conditions at the RFK Stadium auxiliary fields on Wednesday morning.
Players will complete their individual exit meetings with the technical staff on Thursday and Friday, then disperse until late January. For most, the offseason cannot come quickly enough.
āThe guys are happy,ā goalkeeper Troy Perkins said. āItās been tough to come every day with a good mind set and push through it, especially the last couple of days ā the weatherās been bad and the field is terrible.ā
After a season like Unitedās, some of the exit meetings may not be all that enjoyable, either, though they represent an important tool in processing each playerās progress over the course of the year.
āWe go over strengths, weaknesses, things to work on in the offseason,ā DC technical director Chad Ashton said on Wednesday. āNormal stuff, just kind of an evalution of the year. And itās good to get their feedback too: what they thought of themselves, of the team, the coaching as well ā everything. So itās kind of a two-way process.ā
With the expansion draft looming just a week away, Unitedās brain trust is still firming up their 11-man list of protected players. But while the Columbus Crew drew headlines with this weekās decisions to part ways with several high-profile veterans, Ashton believes itās a bit too early for DC to make final decisions on who will be cut loose from the current roster, which is a youthful group by comparison.
āYou donāt really make decisions on letting guys go, just because you never know where youāre going to stand a month-and-a-half from now,ā he said. āMaybe you pick up a certain position or you need a certain position. The landscape of your team is constantly changing, so to actually tell guys youāre done with them would, to me, be a mistake. Later on, [if] you decide you want them back, youāve soured the player.ā
With MLS SuperDraft on the clubās radar, the coaching staff has been scouting college matches this fall and will also observe some of this winterās US youth national team training camps. Ashton, general manager Dave Kasper and interim head coach Ben Olsen will all be embarking on international talent-finding trips as well.
āWeāve already made a trip to Colombia,ā Ashton said. āWe have a scheduled trip to Brazil, we have a scheduled trip to Argentina. Thatās all thatās officially on the calendar right now, but Iām sure there will be a couple more as well.ā
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