MLS: Limited but nonetheless present benefits from individual training return

On Wednesday, some MLS teams returned to individual training routines at their facilities. The benefits of this are limited, but they are nonetheless present.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, sports around the world are beginning to return. Slowly. Surely. Hopefully safely. And with extreme caution and attentiveness. But they are nonetheless starting to get back to some semblance of normality.

German chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday morning that Bundesliga plans to return to play during the second half of May have been approved. It is the first major league in the world to return to play. The Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ has made strides in recent days and is targeting a June resumption. And on Wednesday, Major League Soccer teams slowly made their return to training.

After a training moratorium was enforced from March 12th until May 15th, MLS announced last week that teams could return to training provided they abided by strict safety rules. These involved a wide range of processes to protect players and prevent the potential spread of COVID-19, but perhaps the most noticeable difference is that players will train on their own, split into four quadrants across an 11-a-side pitch.

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There are also checks, temperature tests, the use of gloves, social distancing measures in place, and slots that players must abide by, thus not overfilling the facilities. Gyms, changing rooms, and meeting rooms will remain closed.

Not every team has proved that they abide by these rules, yet. In fact, as of writing, only four MLS teams will return to this individualised training on Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City, Atlanta United, Inter Miami and Orlando City.

Quite what the players are able to do remains to be seen. Are they allowed to pass a ball between them as long as they do not step into one another’s quadrant? What about taking shots at goal? Are they even allowed to work with a football at all? Based on the instructional video laid out by Sporting KC, they will be allowed to use a football, but it does explain in what capacity.

In reality, the benefits of this step are limited. You cannot work as a team. Little tactical instruction can be given. You cannot even work in a pair on collective defensive or offensive combinations. Given how interconnected football is, individual work does not really move the needle for preparing teams for competitive play.

Nevertheless, that does not mean there are no benefits, as Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer outlined to reporters to this week.

“From a mental standpoint, I think everybody has been cooped up for a long time and just getting out, and even if you’re not close and however the arrangements come out with quadrants, segments, all of the safety issues that we’re going to do before we even step on the field, I think it’ll be good for the guys to run around on the grass,” Schmetzer said via mlssoccer.com. “From a medical standpoint, from a training standpoint, guys can only do so much in their apartments, in their living rooms, the Zoom workouts and all of that — our fitness guys are saying, ‘Hey, look, we’ve got to get them outside and open their legs up, get the hamstrings moving again.’ So there’s a physical component and there’s also a mental component to it as well.”

Certainly, the greater space will be hugely beneficial. Add in the mental benefits of being able to speak to and see your teammates again and it is easy to see how huge a step in the right direction this is. Football, very slowly but surely, is on the return, and that will bring happiness and hope to players, coaches and fans.

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Realistically, what players can do and not do will be extremely limited. But this is serious progress, and, for now, that is benefit enough.

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