BRADENTON, Fla. — FC Cincinnati returned to the practice field on Monday morning following Saturday’s 1-0 win against the Colorado Rapids.
The new week begins Cincinnati’s last at IMG Academy. The team returns to Cincinnati on Saturday morning.
Here’s what happened on day 10:
Morning session
Midfielder Allan Cruz did not participate in the practice after rejoining the team late Sunday night. Cruz had been with the Costa Rican national team, where he played 90 minutes in the international friendly against the United States Men’s National Team. The USMNT won, 2-0.
Goalkeeper Spencer Richey fully participated in training after limited involvement during the first week in Florida.
After passing and touching drills, the team split into small groups for small-sided games that prioritized spacing, passing and shooting.
“Every activity was shape based,” Head Coach Alan Koch said. “Then we worked on technical ability. …We put them in a possession-based activity and then we had small-sided stuff, which was just to get workload stuff done for the day.”
Koch said the session was FC Cincinnati’s first in preparation for Thursday night’s preseason match against D.C. United.
“We’ve got three days now to prepare for a game, which is a little bit more regular in terms of preparing once we’re up and running for the season,” Koch said.
Afternoon session
FC Cincinnati had its first outside strength and conditioning session in the afternoon. Players, including Cruz, went through a circuit that prioritized upper body strength.
“Today was more body and core since we have a double session tomorrow, another on Wednesday and a game on Thursday,” said Strength & Conditioning Coach Austin Berry. “We just had to get strength in, but it was nice to get on the field and out of the gym.”
