Across The Midwest Pitch - #9

by Matt Besler

Hello to everyone and welcome back to another version of “Across the Midwest Pitch.” Although, this week it should probably be changed to the “Southwest Pitch” because myself and the rest of the Kansas City Wizards just arrived in Phoenix, Arizona.

We are staying in Scottsdale and training at a nearby complex called Reach 11. We also have the great opportunity to work with Athlete’s Performance Institute for all of our gym workouts. It’s definitely nice to get out of the cold weather and be able to train outside. I think everyone will enjoy the perks of Arizona, but we all understand we’re here for business. There’s already been lots of competition at every position, so it will be interesting as we progress through preseason.

Before we arrived in AZ, the team spent a week training in Kansas City. Due to weather, we spent the week inside at the Chiefs facility at Arrowhead. Here’s a quick recap:

The first couple of days were spent getting all of our fitness testing done, along with a couple small sided games and possession. The tests varied from beep tests, agility tests, 40-yard dash, and strength tests. There was a lot of hard work put in during the offseason, so it was nice to get these tests out of the way and focus on playing.

It was also nice to meet some of the new guys on our team. There were a couple of acquisitions made during the offseason, along with the draft, and it always takes a week or two to get used to how everyone plays and interacts.

Well, there’s not much else to report from the first week. Everyone’s body is feeling a little sore. No matter how much you train in the offseason, the first week is usually a wake up call for your body since you haven’t competed at such a high level for a while.

The team has settled down in Arizona and most everyone can’t wait to get out on the practice field. Next week we get to scrimmage a couple other teams as well. Can’t wait for that. I’ll do my best to check in with you guys again sometime next week. I’m sure there will be a lot more news after a tough week of training down here.

Also, I’m planning on doing a small write-up about how much different it is coming in my second year compared to my rookie year. So if there’s any questions or comments about this, send them in.

For daily updates, follow me on Twitter - @mbesler.


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