Los Angeles Blues News Release -- www.bluessoccerclub.com
Friday, October 21, 2011
LOS ANGELES – A month removed from the conclusion of the Blues’ 2011 USL PRO season, the team’s coaches have officially rung in their preparations for next year’s campaign by holding the first three training sessions in Downtown Los Angeles. With the opening league match about five months away, the current emphasis is not on filling roster spots as quickly as possible but on identifying players worth keeping around for future consideration.
Thursday’s training session featured a very small group made up of two members from the 2011 Blues roster, several local prospects, as well as a few veterans recently seen plying their trade in other professional leagues. Head Coach Charlie Naimo and Associate Head Coach Shayon Jalayer had the participants engaged in passing and technical drills before assessing their work on and off the ball through some small-sided games.
“While we’re not handing out a lot of contracts this early on, there are a number of good reasons to start training now,” Naimo explained. “First of all, we want players we’re interested in across the country to stay aware of us, and we can do that by inviting them to come work out here. In addition, we’re hoping to play some exhibition games and scrimmages soon, so this is a way to give some of the guys a chance to start raising their fitness level and get back in good soccer shape.
“The training sessions are also a way for us to stay in touch with some of our players from the 2011 roster that we might be interested in resigning. Having said that, there were some things we weren’t happy with this year, so working with players now is an opportunity to compare some new personalities to what we had. Right now, we’re just starting to get to know everyone and getting a feel for what they have to offer.”
The Blues currently train twice a week, with the number of participants varying greatly from session to session, as Naimo and Jalayer look to bring in a lot of players over the coming weeks to eventually cut down to a shorter list of serious contenders. There are also plans for an open combine early next year, likely in January.
Stay tuned to www.labluesprosoccer.com for combine details as well as weekly updates on the process that may just result in the emergence of the next Cinderella star à la 2011 Blues top scorer Cesar Rivera!