Training Notes: May 27, 2014

Following a 2–1 loss on the road to the New England Revolution on May 24 at Gillette Stadium, D.C. United returned to the RFK training field in preparation for the team’s upcoming home game against Sporting Kansas City (7 p.m., Comcast SportsNet). Conor Doyle and Luis Silva returned to practice, after falling ill and missing the Black-and-Red’s game against the Revs.

In typical fashion, United began training with an animated 5v2 keep away, before moving into a dynamic stretching warmup circuit. The team then performed an agility drill, in which the squad was divided into two lines, and had to race one another across an agility ladder and two small hurdles before sprinting back to the starting point.

Following the agility drill, the team spread out across the practice pitch to work on passing. The first passing exercise required the players to dribble the ball between dummies, before passing the ball to a teammate in the opposite direction of their momentum. With the second passing drill, the team worked on one-twos, passing the ball between the dummies.

After a quick water break, the team was split into two groups of nine, with two neutral players whilst playing on half the length of the regular pitch. The goal of the exercise was to maintain possession as long as possible, with the defending team placing constant pressure on the ball.

To finish training, the team was divided into two groups of eight, distinguishing themselves with green and blue pinnies for an intra-squad scrimmage on half the pitch. For the blue team, Doyle and Silva looked sharp in their return, with Doyle netting a brace and Silva adding another goal. The blue team won the first game 3–2.

Following a brief intermission, the blue team won the second game, scoring three goals. Once again, Silva found the net for the blue team, while Collin Martin scored the green team’s only goal. After the game, the group cooled down with post-workout stretching.