Louisville City FC Coach James O’Connor met with local media just before the team left Sunday for two weeks of preseason training at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
O’Connor joked that he’ll pack his signature hat and sunscreen. But he’s also taking with him plenty of ambition for the 2017 United Soccer League season, which kicks off next month.
Time at IMG will begin shaping lineups for a LouCity team that follows back-to-back appearances in the USL Eastern Conference Final.
“I can honestly look at all the guys, and I can’t tell you who’s going to start on March 25,” O’Connor said. “All our guys know that. It’s a very open, honest environment.”
Here’s what to expect from preseason training…
• While a number of other teams will be nearby in Florida, O’Connor hasn’t scheduled games against them. He uses the warm-weather time for two-a-day sessions, building conditioning designed to prevent injuries during a USL season that will stretch to October.
This being the second year LouCity’s headed to IMG, O’Connor’s returning players knew the challenge going into it.
“They were given offseason programs, and the guys have done great,” the coach said. “I’m really encouraged by how strong they look and really pleased by their application during the offseason.”
• The team left late in the afternoon Sunday and landed in Tampa, Fla., in the evening. The work started Monday with a 10 a.m. gym session. Most other days at IMG, players will report for a 6:30 a.m. breakfast and 8 a.m. session.
“The two weeks in Florida are probably the most important part of the year — critical,” O’Connor said. “I would say it’s that important.”
• Twenty players, including a new signing to be announced this week, boarded the plane Sunday for Florida. O’Connor also has a pair of goalkeepers meeting the team at IMG on a trial basis. He plans to sign a third goalkeeper with regular starter Greg Ranjitsingh now in the international pool of players who could suit up for Trinidad and Tobago.
Last year, when Ranjitsingh earned his first call up, O’Connor started rookie Tim Dobrowolski in a road win at FC Montreal. He also brought former keeper Scott Goodwin, who left the team mid-year to enroll in Harvard Medical School, to sit on the bench in case of injury. Should the scenario play out again, O’Connor will have an in-house option as a backup.
• While most every player on LouCity’s roster is reporting at or near full strength to preseason, midfielder Niall McCabe remains a work in progress, still on the return from hip surgery that ended his 2016 season. But O’Connor noted that McCabe is “probably ahead of where we thought he would be” at this point in the rehab process.
McCabe, who hails from Ireland, remained in the United States during the offseason to work back from a labral tear. O’Connor said McCabe completed a 5K run in fewer than 20 minutes last week.
• Upon returning from IMG, LouCity has four preseason games scheduled, the first of them on March 4 against NCAA Division II Young Harris College, where McCabe, Ilija Ilic and Paco Craig attended. Playing time remains up for grabs.
“With a few of the new players, and a couple of the old players, I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve,” O’Connor said. “…I can honestly look at all the guys, and I can’t tell you who’s going to start on March 25,” when LouCity opens its season against Saint Louis FC. “All our guys know that. It’s a very open, honest environment.”
