FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas received four gifts for Valentine’s Day, as defenders Heath Pearce and George John joined team captain Daniel Hernandez for their first full training session of the season on the adidas field at Pizza Hut Park. The fourth gift was the weather, sunny and 65 degrees, allowing head coach Schellas Hyndman an opportunity to correct his team’s errors in Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo in Corpus Christi, Texas.
WATCH: Bobby Rhine recaps Feb. 14 training session
Sidelined
Zach Loyd (eye
contusion), Kyle Davies (recovering from left ankle surgery), Edson Edward (torn
ACL), Ugo Ihemelu (recovering from sports hernia surgery) and Charlie Campbell
(strained right hamstring).
13-on-13
Hyndman began practice
with an often-used game in which two teams of 13 players attempt to score in any
one of three goals at opposite end lines. Goals scored on the outside of the
field count for one point and goals scored in the middle of the field count for
two points. Heath Pearce highlighted the warm-up session with a two-point shot
into the upper corner of the goal from 30 yards out. The team broke for water
after 20 minutes, then settled into two drills – one run by Hyndman and another
directed by FC Dallas Assistant Coach John Ellinger.
Ellinger
In the penalty area on the north side of the field, Ellinger ran an
interesting 5-on-3 drill. In red: Pearce, John, Alexis Pradie and Scott Gordon
scored points by combining as many passes as possible against the green team
(Peri Marosevic, Victor Ulloa and Maykel Galindo). The red team was limited to
one touch on the ball per possession, while the green team was allowed unlimited
touches on the ball. If the ball left the area, possession always returned to
the green team, who was not required to connect passes to score. The green team
scored points the conventional way, by beating the goalkeeper. Acting as the
fifth player on the red team, Kevin Hartman and Chris Seitz alternated in goal.
Hyndman
On the south side of the field, Hyndman ran an offense
versus defense drill. The 2010 MLS Coach of the Year constantly rotated players
in and out and from offense to defense. On the defensive side of the ball,
Hyndman preached spacing and direction. He directed his players to only allow
shots from distance. Once the defense won the ball, they were charged with
maintaining possession and transitioning to offense. The defensive team aimed to
score in one of two goals located on the outside of midfield.
Fitness
Following the drills, the team broke up into three
groups for an arduous conditioning run. The groups were required to run 800
meters in three-and-a-half minutes. After each run, the players were given a
three-and-a-half minute recovery session before the next repetition. The team
repeated the run four times.
FC Dallas will return to the practice field
at 4:30 today for the second of their two-a-day sessions. Stay tuned to
FCDallas.com for a full recap of that session tomorrow.
