Real Salt Lake showed the first glimpse of a new formation in Wednesday morning’s training session in Casa Grande, Arizona. Head Coach Jeff Cassar has hinted that the team may experiment with formations outside of the diamond-shaped midfield that has been so successful in year’s past for the Claret-and-Cobalt and on Wednesday he got a look at the 4-3-3 formation during the morning session.
With Boyd Okwuonu, Abdoulie Mansally and John Stertzer all seeing action with the first team, there were understandable bumps in the road as the staff tinkered with the formation and took occasional pauses for coaching moments.
“We saw some good things, but when you’re introducing some new things patience is going to be the key,” Cassar said. “We saw a lot of good things, but we saw a lot of things that we need to work on as well.”
Through the first three days of camp in Arizona, the focus has been on fitness, tactics and formation as the players gain their legs and battle the early-camp fatigue that comes with each preseason. That meant some tired legs by the end of the morning session and the coaching staff made a late alteration to the afternoon schedule, moving the session up and hour and playing soccer tennis to keep things light, but still competitive.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work fitness-wise, so it makes for some long days and some tired legs. So we wanted to give the guys a little break today and do a little head-tennis in the afternoon and have a tournament,” Cassar said. “These guys are fierce. They’re so competitive. It was good for some laughs.”
Wednesday also saw the return to camp of Tony Beltran, who missed Monday and Tuesday to be with his family after the passing of his grandfather. He was in good spirits and happy to rejoin his teammates and was a boost to the day’s sessions.
Additionally, third-round SuperDraft selection Jordan Murrell saw his first action with RSL as the Arizona leg hit the halfway point. He previously had been training in Europe, working out with various clubs before the conclusion of the MLS SuperDraft. After learning that he was picked by RSL, he quickly sought a return flight and he met up with the team on Tuesday evening, taking part in both training sessions despite his rigorous travel schedule.
RSL will continue the two-a-day schedule on Thursday and Friday before taking on the New England Revolution on Saturday in Casa Grande. Admission to the match is free to the public and it is scheduled to kick off at 9 a.m. MT.
