VANCOUVER, BC – After a week of training at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Whitecaps FC are off to Tucson, Arizona on Monday for their first preseason trip of 2015.
The ‘Caps will spend 10 days in Tucson, where they will play exhibition matches against New England Revolution and Western Conference sides San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo.
TUCSON MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday, February 4: vs. New England Revolution at 10 a.m. PT
Saturday, February 7: vs. San Jose Earthquakes at 4 p.m. PT
Tuesday, February 10: vs. Houston Dynamo at 9 a.m. PT
Whitecaps FC head to Arizona after a productive first week of training. The focus in the first week, according to head coach Carl Robinson, was very much fitness and bringing the group together – something we saw with the celebration of Jordan Harvey’s birthday and a spontaneous hijacking of our camera courtesy of Pa-Modou Kah.
“It’s not about giving them too much information in the first five, seven days,” Robinson said. “It’s about letting them acclimatize to their teammates. Everyone knows that we’ve got a good group here. It’s important they settle in, feel part of the group and feel happy here. Because once they’re happy, they start working hard and once they start working hard they start learning.”
Although the 'Caps returned a record 22 players to camp this year, the upcoming Tucson trip will also allow some of the new faces to gel with the rest of the group.
"Here in Vancouver, we all have our own places," Kekuta Manneh told reporters on Friday. "But down on the road we have our roommates, everyone gets together and plays games, gets used to each other and stuff like that. It’s a great thing for the team."
With three matches in Tucson upcoming, Robinson said he and his staff will now fast-track into certain football scenarios, which is much easier to do because of the team’s high level of fitness.
“We’ll give them patterns of play, some ideas of what we want in the attacking game,” Robinson said. “We’ll work certainly on the attacking side and then towards the Portland trip we’ll work on the defensive side. But we won’t be chopping and changing too much.”
If you wish to visit MLS Preseason in Tuscon, contact Uniglobe One Travel - Neal Chark at nealc@uniglobeone.com or call 604 677 1495 at any time for immediate, professional and expedited service.
Participate in the best sporting experience in Vancouver! The 2015 Whitecaps FC season kicks off on March 7 versus Toronto FC at BC Place. Whitecaps FC Season Tickets are now on sale. In addition to Season Tickets, Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, Student Half-Season Tickets, and a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket. For more information on 2015 Season Tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
