55 days. That’s the last time the Sounders FC took the pitch as a team in the Second Leg of the 2014 Western Conference Championship.
In that short offseason, the club has recovered and readied itself for the long season ahead, a season that started on Saturday morning with the first training session of 2015.
“It’s always exciting on the first day because the players are anxious and they’re eager and want to show you what they can do,” said Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid. “You can definitely sense the excitement and we wanted to make sure we got a good look at the new guys and got the work for the older guys that we wanted to.”
The club will have just 42 days to prepare for its season opener on March 8 against defending Eastern Conference champions New England Revolution. If Saturday’s initial session was anything to go by, the entire team can’t wait to get started.
“For me, this is the first time I’m here on opening day because of previous [U.S. National Team] January Camps,” said captain Brad Evans after the session. “You get a little bit of a different vibe…I forgot all the fans come out, it’s absolutely insane. But it’s a very quick turnaround and we start up in six weeks. It feels good though, good to see the guys. A ton of faces, especially with S2 but everyone came with a great attitude.”
After the initial session, training will resume on Monday before the team departs for its first preseason trip of the year to Southern California. While there, the coaching staff will be able to begin evaluations on its large squad with an eye on the first season of Sounders FC 2 in USL Pro.
“It’s good. Obviously, we’re growing as a club,” said Schmid. “That’s the biggest thing you notice today. Not only our team but now you’ve got S2 as well and the Academy has been going for a while. We are now a soccer club in the truest sense of the word. Today there were a lot of people out there, a lot of staff as well as players…but it’s good to get started, always good to get started.”
Welcomed by over a hundred supporters at Starfire, the club’s first session was spirited and upbeat with a number of new faces enjoying the atmosphere.
One such new face was recently-hired General Manager and President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey, who experienced first-hand the passion and enthusiasm that come with the first day of Sounders FC training.
“Never had a supporters’ group greet us on the way out to practice so that was pretty awesome,” said Lagerwey of his first preseason experience in the Emerald City. “Great atmosphere. For me, still meeting the players and learning names and things like that. Early days in terms of team construction but these guys have it under control.”
Lots of work remains this preseason, but after day one the club and supporters’ alike are ready for the demanding journey that awaits.
