Here are a few overview comments from coach Sigi Schmid after watching the newcomers and veterans work in separate sessions at the Seahawks indoor facility in Renton.
On Day 2) It’s getting the ball rolling a little bit, getting everybody’s body used to the daily pounding again, and the routine. But I think the spirits have been good. I think the practice has been intense. … I thought the young guys were better and calmer today, so that was better soccer as well. I’ve been pleased. I think the energy level has been good. I think there’s been some good play. There’s been some good goals. We just have to continue along those lines.
On Steve Zakuani regenerating after full participation Friday) He came out and he did the initial part of the warmup with the team, and then we put him through another workout. He and I spoke. He’s ready to push. He knows this is the final phase of it, which is also the most difficult phase of it. The first 70 percent goes fairly quickly and then the last percentage takes a lot longer. But he knows he has to push through this last phase, but at the end of the day he’s the only one who knows how his body feels, and we have to respect that as well. He’s ready, he’s prepared, he knows now is the time to put in the extra work that’s needed.
On if the training schedule changes because the CONCACAF quarterfinals begin March 7 … 10 days before the MLS regular season) The initial part of it probably isn’t going to change all that much. Once we get into Florida (Feb. 11) it’s going to change a little bit. Once we really identify saying “This is what we think is our starting lineup,” part of that evaluation is going to be on the fitness level of some of the guys. There’s a couple of guys I’m concerned about a little bit that I don’t think came back as fit as I would have liked them to have been. So that might effect who we play or who we start that first game. But once we identify the 13 that we think the starters are going to come from, their training rhythm is probably going to change a little bit as we move into mid-February.
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