The Orlando Pride kicked off their preseason on Monday, and at first glance, the team is feeling good. Unlike last season, when players were just starting to get to know each other, this year players were already clicking on the training pitch. With more depth in the roster, players are already starting to get competitive and the quality of the training is on a new level.
“It was great. To be fair, it usually always is on the first day,” Sermanni said after training. “Players come in a little bit nervous, but excited, and the tempo is usually good. But I think looking and trying to make a comparison to year one, I think the players have come in far more ready to play and I thought the tempo was good and I thought the quality was good.”
The first day is about the coaches observing players, figuring out their fitness levels and trying to see what the team should work on in their first couple of weeks. Generally, Sermanni feels the team is starting from a good place.
“I thought it was very good,” Sermanni said. “I thought the tempo of the game was good, players look like they’re in good shape, and there’s still a lot of energy left at the end of the session. So my first day impression, and I stress very much that it is my first day impression, is that everybody’s come in ready to go.”
It helps that the team knows each other, but it is also critical that the players know what the coaches want out of them. All of the returning players from last year, as well as some of the new additions, have worked with Sermanni before and know what to expect going into training.
“I think we’re all more familiar with each other now,” Sermanni said. “I think they know what I expect from them, and they know how I work and what I want to do and how we want to play. I think what we’ve done is improve the quality and the competition in the squad, and that we’ll go out there with a better chemistry and a better overall quality.”
Kristen Edmonds also noted the competition within the squad. Depth was something the Pride lacked last season, but relying on the new players while the national team players were away created stronger players, and thus, stronger competition for their spots. Bringing in some massive talent in the offseason stepped that up to another level.
“Everyone’s trying to prove a point, everybody’s trying to get a start from day one,” Edmonds said. “We’re playing at a high level, so it’s gonna be competitive from the start and it was today. But everyone’s still trying to get a feel for everything.”
I think everybody’s just so excited that we’re finally back into everything and it’s gonna start flowing pretty quickly,” Edmonds said. “We’re just excited to be back.”
