Rowdies hit the ground running at camp

Posted Mar 1, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Mar 1, 2010 at 05:18 PM

There wasn’t much easing into the first day of the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies training camp as all 24 players hit the ground running, literally, on Monday at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Center.

After being split into three groups for the infamous ‘beep test’, a test of the player’s endurance and fitness, the players also did some four-on-four and seven-on-seven work as Head Coach Paul Dalglish began to implement the philosophy he wants to see from his side when it begins the regular season on April 16 against Crystal Palace Baltimore.

The sharpness with which both the players under contract and on trial performed, and the work-rate they exhibited, was impressive to those in attendance.

“They’ve obviously been working pretty hard before they came in here, so I’m really, really pleased,” Dalglish said. “We’ve got seven weeks now to fine-tune them for the game against Baltimore.”

Dalglish said the opening week and game against the University of Tampa on Saturday was a chance for the entire squad to get familiar and comfortable with each other before the pressure and intensity begins to rise as the month goes on.

“There’s a plan, and you don’t want to peak too soon, so you’ve got to kind of throw the reins on the guys week one,” he said. “Just get them back playing games, the serious work can start week two, three and four, where the intensity and the hardness, I suppose for want of a better word, will increase. It’ll be much harder week two, three and four, but then we bring it down again and we get into a normal training schedule for the upcoming season.”

There were some absences, mostly of foreign players, with New Zealander midfielder Jeremy Christie, Japanese midfielder Takuya Yamada, English defender Jason Beardsley and Canadian midfielder Mozzi Gyorio all waiting to get their paperwork in order.

“As soon as we get the paperwork through, the guys will be here” Dalglish said. “Yamada, Jeremy Christie, Jason Beardsley and Mozzi are all fantastic players. Those guys would improve any team in this league, so we’re really happy to get them can’t wait to have them here, but we just have to be a little bit patient.”

Also currently absent is midfielder Scott Buete, who is with the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Baltimore Blast until the middle of April. With the way the club’s first practice went, Dalglish said getting those five players into the fold would just increase the level of the team’s play.

“Five really, really good players that we’re waiting for,” Dalglish said, “and the standard’s already this high, so really exciting going into the season.”