It was rainy. It was cold. It was a usual Vancouver January day.
What wasn’t so usual were the players taking part in Vancouver Whitecaps first training session of 2012. There were old faces, new signings and those who are just hoping to impress enough to earn a spot on the Whitecaps MLS squad.
It was a sea of new faces, new squad numbers and the start of a long journey that Whitecaps fans will hope will see them fare better in their sophomore season than their inaugural one. That isn’t a very high bar to set and reach of course!
34 players will take part in this week’s first pre-season training camp. The 25 players already signed to the Caps’ MLS squad are joined by Ben Fisk, Caleb Clarke and Callum Irving from the Residency team; draftees Chris Estridge, Mark Fetrow, Andrew Fontein, and Greg Klazura; and two trialists Etienne Barbara and the surprisingly returning Bilal Duckett.
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Not all were present today, the Residency guys and Bryce Alderson were excused after their two game weekend road trip to LA in USSDA U18 action, whilst Camilo and new signing Young-Lee Pyo were absent for personal family reasons.
Before the rumours start swirling around re Camilo, Martin Rennie confirmed that the Brazilian top scorer would be joining the camp on Thursday, with Lee coming Friday.
It was a usual first day back at training, with not too much to be gleaned from proceedings. By the end of the week, coaches and fans will at least know how players seem to fit into the mix, the chemistry between various team-mates and how they look with a ball at their feet and not just on paper.
Although it was the first day back, the players were certainly put through their paces, with players split into four groups, to face several drills and a mini scrimmage. The players are going to be split into two groups for the rest of the week’s training, and it’ll be a case of the guys getting to know each other and finding out each other’s style of play and how it can compliment their own.
For veteran goalkeeper Joe Cannon, it’s another year, another pre-season training camp and his second in Vancouver, but he already likes what he sees:
<i>”I think you know what a talented group of guys we have individually, but today you saw a lot of hunger in there. Mixed in with the new group, it’s going to really push guys that have been here to get better.
I thought with the quality all around, we’re much further ahead than we were last year, but in saying that, we still got a way to.”</i>
Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit is looking forward to what lies ahead and working with the new management team and players:
<i>”So far the coaching staff has a good idea of how we want to go about things here in pre-season. Today was just to get the legs moving, get the guys playing again and hopefully we’ll move on from here.
We’ve made some fantastic additions. It’ll be nice to get to know these guys, see their work ethic and see how they can help us.”</i>
What did come across from watching the players on the pitch, and talking to some of them publically and privately afterwards, is the team harmony that already exists. They’re also just glad to be back in training and looking forward to what they season ahead may bring the team, and themselves personally.
In many aspects, training just feels different from last season. It’s a lot more organised and professional feeling and the players are all responding accordingly. You would expect nothing less on day one naturally, but there does appear to be a much happier buzz around the squad under the tutelage of Rennie, Ritchie and the others.
For someone like Jun Marques Davidson, who has played under Rennie before in Carolina, it was to be expected and the decision to come and play under him again was easy:
<i>”He’s a great coach. Paul Ritchie too. He (Rennie) is a great motivator. He brings the team really up-tempo. Very positive, and that’s always good for the players to keep playing well.”</i>
It’s way too early to judge the new signings or the potential signings, but a few players stood out at times today, including Michael Nanchoff and new boys Lee Nguyen and Darren Mattocks.
The Caps number one SuperDraft selection Mattocks is already impressed by the whole Whitecaps organization:
<i>”The organisation of the club is pretty good. The President of the Club (Bobby Lenarduzzi) came in this morning and talked to the guys in the locker room, so that speaks volumes. The coaching staff are doing a wonderful job.”</i>
With such a striking presence at the club, what will Mattocks have to do to get himself those first team opportunities?:
<i>”Just stay focussed. Work hard. First one in the changing room, last one to get out. Just do what I do all of my career and score goals.”</i>
With an attitude like that, he seems like he’ll be a great addition to the squad. It’s refreshing to hear.
It may only be day one but the players and management are already keenly focussed on doing wel, hitting the ground running and having a more successful season than last year.
By the end of the week, we may have a slightly better idea of who has the qualities, and who is going to be around down the line, to help the team achieve that.
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