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BRADENTON, Fla. — So much for sunny Florida.

Louisville City FC’s players returned to the training field just before 8 a.m. Wednesday to driving wind and rain at IMG Academy. After drilling on attacking shape and philosophy, they finished with a rondo, soccer’s version of keep away.

The storm’s intensity picked back up, pushing a team on a neighboring pitch to seek cover. Coach James O’Connor, in the rondo himself, didn’t let up.

“I think people know by now that if we’re training, we’re training,” he said. “We could be in a hurricane but still need to get our work done. There was fantastic attitude from the players.”

Coming out of Tuesday’s scrimmage, O’Connor said his players are sore, and he’s managing that as two weeks of preseason training near their end. The toughest conditioning is done.

“It moves on now, from attacking principles to defensive principles we’ll touch on as well,” O’Connor said. “It’s trying to teach the new guys a philosophy and expectation for where to be, which takes time. There will be a lot of that over the next couple of days.”

McCabe getting back to form

LouCity’s first preseason tune-up comes March 4 — a week from Saturday — against NCAA Division II Young Harris. Niall McCabe intends to see the field against his alma mater.

McCabe, who was shut down late in 2016 for season-ending hip surgery, received clearance recently from a team doctor and went the distance in Tuesday’s scrimmage at IMG.

“Obviously I’m not as fit as the rest of the boys who have been playing soccer all offseason, but I’m getting through all the exercises,” the midfielder said. “I just need to get the sharpness and power back and hopefully be able to play some games.”

A native of Ireland, McCabe hasn’t been back home to see his family since Christmas — in 2015. He remained in Louisville during the offseason for daily rehab work, often in the gym and pool.

McCabe registered 2 goals and 4 assists in 2016, starring in the attacking midfield before injured.

“I think it’s gone better than expected,” the midfielder said of his preseason. “I’ve had a few sore days when I had to take it down a bit, but I’ve completed the main work. I’m pleased with how it’s gone.”

Ballard settling in

The first Louisville native to sign with LouCity is handling the transition from college standout to professional rookie well.

Richard Ballard, a Manual High School graduate, played striker in his final season with Indiana University. O’Connor positioned Ballard on the wing in the club’s first scrimmage this week.

“It’s a little bit faster than college, but I feel like I was very well prepared, and I’m fitting in well,” Ballard said.

IU’s top-flight training prepared Ballard for the next level, where a number of his former teammates will also play in 2017. He has also signed on to a LouCity roster where relationships extend off the field.

“The intensity is really high, and we’re working hard,” Ballard said. “But it’s going to pay off. It’s a great group of guys, and they’ve all been welcoming. The camaraderie — it’s there.”

BRADENTON, Fla. — After a week and a day of preseason conditioning, Louisville City FC brought out the goals Tuesday during a 45-minute intrasquad scrimmage at IMG Academy, where the team is training ahead of 2017 United Soccer League opener.

LouCity’s 20 players split into even sides of 10, with the scrimmage contested on a slightly shortened field.

“We just wanted to get some minutes into their legs,” said coach James O’Connor. “It’s just part of what we do. I’m really pleased with how it went. I thought some of the guys looked sharp. I think for where we want to be, we can be happy with how it’s going.”

A number of other clubs, including Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire as as well as USL rivals FC Cincinnati and Saint Louis FC, are also at IMG on preseason trips. They play frequently at the campus’ main stadium, whereas O’Connor put his players through the paces on their regular training pitch.

• VIDEOS: More from O’Connor, players after the scrimmage

Conditioning is the emphasis of LouCity’s two weeks in Florida, as they’ll have four preseason games closer to home leading up to a March 25 opener against Saint Louis FC at Louisville Slugger Field. But O’Connor couldn’t ignore some other aspects of the scrimmage.

“To see the quality we saw at times was great — very encouraging,” he said.

Each of LouCity’s strikers — Cameron Lancaster, Ilija Ilic and Luke Spencer — scored. So too did midfielders George Davis IV and Brian Ownby, former Richmond Kickers teammates reunited this season in Louisville.

Ownby had other chances on goal but said “heavy legs” — two-a-days are routine during preseason — prevented him from capitalizing on them.

He wasn’t the only newcomer to stand out. Spencer, who spent last season with FC Cincinnati, showed authority at forward, and Devon “Speedy” Williams, formerly of the New York Red Bulls II, directed in the midfield.

“We played in some different formations for the first time, so I think that kept us on our toes,” said defender Sean Reynolds. “Overall, everyone did well. It showed the fitness is getting there.”

Players were due back on the pitch at 4 p.m. to begin talking tactics in the day’s second session.

Louisville City FC has its search for a stadium site down to a main option, Chairman John Neace told The Courier-Journal in a story published Saturday.

“We’re 100 percent down the line in terms of knowing the site that we want and having the ground optioned up, but we don’t own any of it yet,” Neace told the paper. “We are working pretty diligently for, let’s just say, a backup plan in case that doesn’t work out.”

The site will be disclosed later, ideally in the first quarter of this year. Neace has previously stated the club will seek land in “urban Louisville,” and in his Courier-Journal interview, he hinted at a location.

“We’ve got to be out there where you can see us from the highway, so people who are out on Saturday night looking for something to do may say, ‘Let’s go to a soccer game. We’ve never been,’ and what spurs them to think about it is the stadium,” Neace said. “So visibility for the stadium itself is pretty key.”

• ALSO SEE: LouCity taps renowned firm HOK for stadium design

Since starting play in 2015, LouCity has established itself as one of the United Soccer League’s top teams. The club’s 108 points earned during the regular season are best among any team over that span and, led by Coach James O’Connor, the boys in purple have made consecutive runs to the Eastern Conference Final.

LouCity meanwhile averaged 7,218 fans at home games in 2016, ranking third of 30 USL teams. That’s a figure that sits in the top 30 nationally, including Major League Soccer franchises. LouCity’s league, the USL, was recently promoted to Division 2 status just below MLS.

Amid LouCity’s success, a study conducted by Convention, Sports & Leisure and Legends and released last August by Louisville Forward confirmed that a soccer-specific stadium is needed to maintain and grow professional soccer in Louisville.

Mayor Greg Fischer at the time said sharing Louisville Slugger Field with the Louisville Bats baseball club “is not sustainable.” He added that the “Louisville City Football Club is off to a great start, and we must embrace the growing demand for soccer in our city and strategically prepare for long-term growth.”

FC Cincinnati has found its successor to Sean Okoli, the 2016 United Soccer League MVP who moved on to Major League Soccer this season.

Louisville City FC’s top rival club signed veteran forward Baye Djiby Fall out of FC Irtysh Pavlodar. Fall scored 2 goals last season in Kazakhstan Premier League play.

“He brings a great deal of international experience and will provide a strong presence in front of the goal,” said FC Cincinnati Coach John Harkes. “Scoring goals is an art form, and we are thrilled that in Djiby, we have a player who is hungry to score.”

Fall, 31, also has experience with Turkish side Karsiyaka SK, two seasons with Danish club Randers FC, as well as two years with German club Gruether Furth. He made additional stops in Belgium, Russia and Norway.

Fall, who was born in Senegal, made two appearances for the national team in 2009.

Voted Player of the Year in Denmark in 2007 and 2009, Fall received an identical award in 2010 while playing in Norway. During his time loaned out to Norwegian club Molde FK, Fall led the the league in goals with 16 in 28 appearances.

Three new additions for Richmond

The Richmond Kickers, another Eastern Conference club, this week announced they’ve signed three new players: defender Evan Lee, midfielder Patrick McCann and goalkeeper Alex Wimmer.

Lee signed with the Kickers after spending his rookie season with FC Cincinnati. Named the club’s most-improved player, he made 14 appearances, playing 323 minutes and contributing to eight shutouts. 

McCann most recently played for the League of Ireland’s Slugo Rovers, where he registered 1 goal in 10 appearances. The club finished fifth in its league.

Wimmer, another with international experience, has played in Sweden’s Division 2 and 3 leagues, and also spent time on trial with England’s Everton and West Bromwich Albion. 

Rhinos sign two

The Rochester Rhinos continued to build their roster this week with the additions of midfielder Jordan Dover and attacking midfielder Rayane Boukemia.

Dover, who played collegiately for the University of Green Bay-Milwaukee, spent the past season competing for Durham United FA in League1 Ontario, where he made 16 appearances and recorded 1 goal and 2 assists. Dover ranked fourth on the team in minutes played.

Boukemia, a former standout in the PDL for Reading United AC, recorded four goals and three assists in nine appearances in 2016 as the side won the Mid Atlantic Division in the PDL. He starred in college for Division II Southern New Hampshire University, the same school as former LouCity forward Kenny Doublette.

Wheeler returns to City Islanders

The Harrisburg City Islanders will return forward Aaron Wheeler, the former Professional Development League MVP, for 2017 USL season. Wheeler’s previous professional experience came with the Wilmington Hammerheads FC and Philadelphia Union.

Wheeler’s 2016 season ended early due to injury, but he was a force when available. He scored 5 goals and tallied 1 assist in 13 appearances for the club.

“Aaron was a big part of our success early,” said City Islanders Coach Bill Becher. “Unfortunately, he was injured midway through the season. Losing him kept us from making the playoffs. If he stays healthy this year, I think we will certainly be a playoff team. We expect big things from Aaron this coming season.”

Louisville City FC’s players are situated for this week and the next in cosy villas, while temperatures at IMG Academy, the world-class facility in Bradenton, Fla., touch 70 degrees daily.

“It’s been pretty tough,” joked Sean Totsch, a first-year defender and midfielder.

Of course, he was referencing time after the 6:30 a.m. wakeup calls and two-a-day sessions LouCity players are working through before the 2017 United Soccer League season.

Work and play during the club’s preseason trip are plenty different.

“We’ve been pushing ourselves trying to set the standard for the intensity we want to keep all year,” Totsch said. “It’s been tough, but we know the work we put in now will pay off.”

Coach James O’Connor first took LouCity’s players to the IMG Academy last year, after in 2015 the start of practice coincided with a snowstorm in Louisville. His goals aren’t to find opponents and play games, but rather to build base fitness and implement injury prevention programs.

It’s a slow build to March 25, when LouCity hosts Saint Louis FC at Slugger Field on opening weekend of the USL season.

“The guys have been training really hard,” O’Connor said. “It’s been tough, but their attitude and intensity has been fantastic.”

LouCity returned 13 players who, combined, made starts at every position on last year’s team that finished with the USL’s second-best record. During the regular season, LouCity went on a run of 17 straight games unbeaten. In the playoffs, they won twice before falling in a penalty kick shootout to the New York Red Bulls II, the eventual USL champion.

Then it was on to a lengthy offseason. From mid-October through the beginning of February, most players spent time out of town. But they had the challenge of preseason — and fitness required to stand out — in mind.

“It’s funny to see the reactions of the new guys coming into the team — not really being able to prepare for something like this,” said defender Tarek Morad, back for his third season with LouCity. “Returners kind of have an advantage over them just because we’re been through this once before.

“I think guys want to be prepared not only just because we know how hard this preseason is, but also because we want to be the best we can every day. That’s something James requires of us, and it’s something we require of ourselves, too. It’s about always maintaining a heightened standard.”

Louisville City FC added depth to its midfield Wednesday by announcing the signing of Oscar Jimenez, a versatile player with United Soccer League experience.

Terms of Jimenez’s contract, which is pending league and federation approval, were not disclosed. He’s the third player to sign with LouCity out of the club’s invitation tryout in January, joining Louisville native Richard Ballard, also a midfielder, and forward Luke Spencer.

“Oscar impressed us with his quality, receiving skills and awareness,” said Coach James O’Connor. “He also possesses the personality and values we look for in players.”

Jimenez has played at all midfield positions during his career, most recently for Premier Development League (PDL) side Mississippi Brilla FC. There, he was the team’s co-leading scorer in 2016 with 4 goals and registered 2 assists in 14 appearances.

Jimenez spent the 2015 season with the USL Western Conference club Tulsa Roughnecks after featuring for the NCAA Division II Western Washington Vikings near his hometown of Mount Vernon, Wash. By excelling at the tryout, he’s back to playing fully professional for LouCity.

“I felt like I was very composed, positive and encouraging to everyone that was there,” Jimenez said. “I pretty much like putting the team first instead of trying to do too much myself to impress the coaches. I think a team-first mentality stood out to James. Now I’m just excited to get out there and to figure out where James sees me fitting in the best and how I can contribute to the team.”

For his previous teams, which include the Seattle Sounders’ U-23s, Jimenez has played as an attacking midfielder, in a holding spot and more defensive roles. He also took set pieces for Mississippi Brilla.

Jimenez has coaching experience as well. He worked as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater before serving in a more full-time role last fall. That, he said, gave him new perspective on the game.

“I’ve only been here for a few days, and I’m already enjoying it,” said Jimenez, who left Sunday with the rest of LouCity’s team for two weeks of preseason training at Florida’s IMG Academy. “I haven’t really played soccer with them yet, but they’re good guys outside of soccer. It’s really cool to be on a team where everyone cares for each other and it’s not like there’s cliques or groups of people. It’s a whole team together.”

Jimenez’s signing brings O’Connor’s LouCity roster to 20 players ahead of a March 25 USL opener against Saint Louis FC. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Louisville Slugger Field. Season ticket packages remain on sale starting at $180 by calling (502) 384-8799, visiting www.loucity.com/tickets or emailing tickets@louisvillecityfc.com.