With various Seattle Sounders players returning to Starfire Sports training facility for voluntary individual workouts, we share our four takeaways from the last seven days.
Due to Washington State’s lockdown rules, the Seattle Sounders may have been concerned about being at a disadvantage compared to other clubs. As reported by mlssoccer.com, MLS granted players permission to start individual player workouts on May 6.
Fortunately for the Sounders, as reported by The Seattle Times, they finally received approval from government officials and public health authorities to also begin individual workouts. One condition of this was that all workouts had to be closed to the public. And so , on May 18, the Sounders players started arriving at Starfire Sports.
Here are four takeaways from the first week of the return to training:
4. Getting into football-specific shape difficult
Jordan Morris was delighted to get back on the training pitch and see his teammates, albeit from a distance. The sense of familiarity that came with returning to Starfire Sports was comforting for him, even in the current climate.
Morris admitted that he missed being around everyone after the extended period in quarantine. At the same, however, he raved about the safety precautions being undertaken since returning and appreciates how important they are at this time.
The two-time MLS Cup winner also said it was good to start getting back into football-specific shape, but admitted it had taken some getting used to. As per the Sounders’ YouTube channel, Morris said:
"“A lot of the workouts at home were running on the street or (using) an exercise bike if you have it, so it’s a little bit different than being back out in the field cutting and doing soccer-specific motions. It’s been tough obviously getting back into that kind of shape but it’s great; it’s getting the guys fit and if things start back up we’ll be ready to go.”"