So with the team still recovering from Saturday's match with FC Dallas and their match with Tauro FC just a day away it was a fairly light practice but there were some things that really stuck out to me.
First, the team is still confident that they can turn things around on Tuesday night and they know how important the match is. Here is my quick interview with Ned Grabavoy as we talked about both the upcoming CCL match and about how important the fans are to the team:
Second, I thought some of the young guys were showing a great deal of energy, from Sebastian Velasquez who brought a smile to Chris Nicol's face when he tried to body up against Jamison Olave (yes Olave was practicing), to Enzo Martinez who still hasn't cracked the first team lineup but has continued to really improve and show well in practices. In talking with a couple people I expect we might see him get into the 18 some time soon, and I think while the adjustment from college to MLS and the defensive responsibilities that RSL demands of all their midfielders may have taken longer than he expected, I think he is going to show that he can be an impact player for the future of RSL.
more thoughts as well as a Will Johnson interview and some comments from Jason Kreis after the jump:
The third thing that stuck out to me at practice was the work being done by both Jamison Olave and Chris Schuler, both have been suffering from injury issues lately, but both practiced and both were taking a fitness test as the practice session ended. This is important because we know that Nat Borchers will be unavailable on Tuesday due to the red card he got in the first CCL match. I don't know if either will be able to go but just the possibility was refreshing to see. I expect that we will likely see Chris Wingert move to one of the center back positions with Kwame Watson-Siriboe and for Kenny Mansally to come in on the outside of the backline.
After practice I was able to catch up with Will Johnson and talk to him about the CCL match Tuesday and about his very busy schedule with MLS, CCL and the Canadian National Team. That schedule has him playing 3 matches this week, and then 4 more matches in the first 18 days of September, which includes two trips to Panama:
RSL head coach Jason Kreis took a couple questions after practice and thanks to Salt Lake Tribune's Marty Renzhofer, I didn't have to be the one asking about the importance of the fans. The audio on this one is weak so you may have to turn your volume up:
So there you go a look at RSL's practice on Monday as the team gets ready for Champions League action on Tuesday against Tauro FC.
OFF MY SOAPBOX