Now in his third season with the Timbers, midfielder Troy Ready provides a glimpse into the second week of preseason training camp. While the focus of training has been on fitness, Ready agrees it's all for the better.
Here is Troy's update from Week 2 of training camp:
Did you say running? Week one was a "teaser" as we spent the majority of the sessions in small sided games and eleven aside, whereas now...the WORK HAS BEGUN...it's fitness time!
It's definitely a "love/hate" relationship every player has with fitness sessions. You hate them for the obvious reasons and yet you find yourself loving them for what they produce in you. Being that there is "a bit" of running in this sport, it is crucially important to lay a foundation of fitness before focusing on the technical and tactical aspects of the game. In short, you can't do much tactically if you're huffin and puffin your way through a game.
So...here we stand, or limp, or crawl, through Week 2 doing what must be done in order to get where we need to go. It has been declared of old "rejoice in sufferings, for sufferings produce in us perseverance, and perseverance produces in us character!"
May this be the fruit of our labor this week as we draw ever closer to the seasons launch.
- Troy