After two days of physicals and fitness testing, Real Salt Lake will take the field for the first full training session on Sunday. After a grueling schedule in 2014 that saw him join the U.S. National Team January camp and go non-stop until a November friendly in Ireland, RSL captain Kyle Beckerman welcomed the break he saw with the off-season, but is now refreshed and ready to start his eighth training camp with Real Salt Lake.
“It was really needed. I needed to get some rest and recharge the battery,” Beckerman said in an interview on the Bill and OC Show on ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City. “I think after a couple of weeks of that you start to get antsy. You miss your buddies and you just want to get back to work.”
In a conversation with Bill Riley that aired on Saturday’s show, Beckerman was introspective about his time in Salt Lake City and how the city has grown to be a part of him, leading to the midfielder signing a contract extension with the club after the 2014 season.
“Ever since I got to Salt Lake I fell in love with this place and the way we play soccer and the way we go about things every day with the club,” he beamed. “I’m happy here. I enjoy the soccer aspect, but really I fell in love with the state.”
After several changes to the roster, Beckerman is confident the team can maintain its string of consecutive playoff appearances, which now sits at a league-best seven straight seasons.
“Everything is here for us to be successful. We have the ownership that’s pushing and trying to grow this. There have been changes, but I think we have guys that know what Real Salt Lake is all about. I’m just looking forward to getting after it and seeing if we can continue what we’ve been doing,” Beckerman said. “I truly feel like we can win it this year. That’s exciting.”
To hear the full interview, click here.
