Turnover may have been the theme of Sporting KC's 2014-15 offseason, but it was a pair of familiar faces that set the tone during the team's first day of preseason training at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona.
Monday was the first of three consecutive two-a-day sessions for Sporting Kansas City. The day began with a series of athletic performance tests led by Sporting KC Fitness Coach Mateus Manoel. The tests included a standing vertical jump as well as the beep test, an aerobic fitness exercise to test one's cardiovascular endurance.
Sporting KC winger Jacob Peterson led the group in the vertical jump with a leap of 31.5 inches, but it was rookie defender Saad Abdul-Salaam who showed the most power during the testing. Abdul-Salaam leapt 30.5 inches, but produced the most power on the team relative to body weight. The outside back from Akron produced 6,457 watts of power, 51 more than the next highest player, goalkeeper Tim Melia.
Although a rookie produced the most power during the vertical leap, it was a pair of veterans who stole the show during the beep test. Two-time reigning champion Christian Duke led the first group through its paces, reaching level 17-6. In the second group, Seth Sinovic out-lasted Mikey Lopez to reach level 16-4. Abdul-Salaam led all first-year players by reaching level 15-6. Other notable finishers in the group were offseason additions Bernardo Añor, who led all forwards with a 15-8 finish, Jalil Anibaba, who led all center backs at 15-5 and Melia, who represented the goalkeeping group with a 14-3 finish.
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After the completion of the tests, the players returned to the hotel for a quick lunch and rest before the second session of the day. While the first session of the day was purely fitness-related, the second session featured 5v2, finishing drills, small-sided games and a half-field 8v8. Although storm clouds threatened to rain on Sporting KC's first day, the weather held and offered Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes a great opportunity to see his team begin to take shape.
"The biggest thing for me is getting the guys indoctrinated into how we do things at Sporting Kansas City," Vermes said. "The players did a few tests in the morning and had a light training session in the afternoon. We don't want to push the players too hard because we want everyone to slowly get back into the rhythm of training every day and get back into the routine of what it's like to prepare for a game."
