The New York Red Bulls are giving a little bit extra in training.
The team had a tournament day on Monday, which is one of the more exciting training sessions to see – and hear. On Tuesday, the team played a full game for 40 minutes as part of their overall training session.
“We decided to do a little 11-on-11 today and work on some tactical things,” Head Coach Jesse Marsch said after training. “After tournament day yesterday, as much as it was a tactical exercise, it was a competitive exercise. That’s the key: To up the competitive level every day.”
Marsch took to the scissor lift to take in the game from up high, and shouted encouragement and tactical advice down to his players on the pitch.
“These last two days, because we’re getting a day off [on Wednesday], he’s pushing,” defender Kemar Lawrence said of Marsch’s training sessions this week. “We’re shifting gears, getting the mentality right. We’re trying to make that switch so that come game day, we’re pretty sharp and we’re pretty clear on the field. This is preparing us for that.”
Midfielder Felipe said that he likes these sort of training sessions because he likes to see the “anger” and “commitment” every day.
Marsch said he likes to work in these tougher training sessions, especially with a mid-week day off, to help mix things up and “keep the environment fresh and everybody really motivated and locked in.”
“The more we can count on the mentality and the competitiveness, we can work on the tactical details,” Marsch said. “It’s a balancing act, and I thought the last two days were really good.”
