First day back in the books
Day 23 was the first real day back in Florida, after arriving late in the evening the day before. This time we’re in St. Petersburg, a place the Impact has come to know well thanks to the Rowdies Suncoast Invitational, an annual tournament organized by the Tampa Bay Rowdies featuring MLS teams.
The day started with the usual breakfast, followed by a first training session at 10am. What’s extremely convenient about our hotel in St. Pete’s, as they call it, is that it’s across the street from Al Lang Stadium, where the Rowdies play their home games. But for the next 11 days, it will also be where the Impact has its training sessions, and where it will play its remaining three preseason games, starting this Saturday against the Philadelphia Union, at 4pm – yes, it will be streamed live on our website.
So, after a quick walk across the street, the players are at training. It starts intensely, led by Robert Duverne of course, who wants to get rid of any rust after a few days off. Then, we move on to a collective passing exercise, the goal being to move the ball quickly and accurately across the field in a set formation.
After over an hour on the pitch, we go back to the hotel for lunch, some rest and, of course, the first half of the Champions League fixtures. But with training again at 4:30pm, the second half would have to wait, although it didn’t stop a few players asking what the scores were in between shifts.
This evening was a little different since EA SPORTS was in town. The players lined-up for face scans in front of what seemed like a hundred cameras, capturing many facial expressions, from frowning to smiling. The Impact is just one of six MLS teams to go through this process with EA SPORTS for the upcoming FIFA 20 video game.
Time for bed now! Train, eat, sleep, repeat.
