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View Full Version : Should the Team Stay Out West For the Whole 3 Weeks?



James17930
08-20-2009, 10:53 AM
From 'The Kick Abou (http://www.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20090819&content_id=6502388&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280)t':

Toronto is about to embark on a terribly inconvenient west coast journey at the most critical juncture of a schedule the third year team has ever encountered. Not only will the continental back and forth (Toronto-Los Angeles-Toronto-Seattle-Toronto-Colorado then back to Toronto) take its mental and physical toll on the players and staff, but the clubs awaiting them will be extra difficult to compete against as they are in the midst of one of the tightest playoff races in MLS history.

So the question needs to be asked -- should they be doing all this flying?

I know it would be horrendously expensive, but, for the greater good of the season and to minimize the competitive disadvantage this amount of travel would seem to suggest, should they be staying out west for the full three weeks, going from L.A. to Seattle and then to Colorado before returning home?

Ideally (note 'ideally'), I would say yes, they should.

CoachGT
08-20-2009, 10:54 AM
Would you want ot be away from your family for three weeks?

ArmenJBX
08-20-2009, 10:55 AM
If it's allowed and we have proper access to training facilities I say go for it. We need 4 points minimum this trip, and that would really give us a kick in the backside. If we can get 6 or even 7 (no way we're getting 9) points, then we're as good as in!

James17930
08-20-2009, 10:59 AM
Would you want ot be away from your family for three weeks?

Me, no prob.

For the players, I would say it's a small sacrifice they should be willing to make.

Afra
08-20-2009, 11:03 AM
I would think that to get them all out of the way would be easier with the time change. You can't fly out there for one game at a time - they won't know whether to sleep or practise.

Jay P
08-20-2009, 11:04 AM
Me, no prob.

For the players, I would say it's a small sacrifice they should be willing to make.


I am sure there are more cons than pros to the players being on the road for 3 weeks.

more performance wise as opposed to costs.

TFC Tifoso
08-20-2009, 11:36 AM
Me, no prob.

For the players, I would say it's a small sacrifice they should be willing to make.

Exactly.....these guys don't exactly have 9 to 5 jobs.....part of the life of being a professional athlete.

I think it would be a good idea.....in a critical part of the season like this it could do a lot of good things for things away from the field, like team mentality - just getting away from it all here back home - and also for bonding - lord knows they dont always look like a team in games - maybe a road trip like this could really bring the boys together in time for a playoff run.

Roogsy
08-20-2009, 11:39 AM
Me, no prob.

For the players, I would say it's a small sacrifice they should be willing to make.

Wouldn't the mental toll be even greater to be away from your family and your own bed for that long?

I don't think there is an advantage to staying out there.

MartinUtd
08-20-2009, 11:39 AM
Would you want ot be away from your family for three weeks?

They play sports for a living.

Not sympathy from he on this one. It's like those congressman that whine about a short recess because it infringes on their "family values" or whatever

TFC Tifoso
08-20-2009, 11:42 AM
Wouldn't the mental toll be even greater to be away from your family and your own bed for that long?

I don't think there is an advantage to staying out there.

Happens all the time in NHL, NBA, MLB.....2-3 week road trips....not much of a difference here

Roogsy
08-20-2009, 11:43 AM
What does their profession have to do with anything?

Soccer players are not baseball players that have grown accustomed to living on the road for weeks at a time.

All soccer players, worldwide, enjoy a "home base" type of profession where they play normally 1 game a week and only half of those are "away". And of those...in most leagues, most of the games are within a bus ride or a short plane ride away. Meaning at the most, an overnight stay.

And our own soccer players in particular aren't making millions of dollars either.

So let's get away from this "it's their job" point of view and concentrate on what matters, which is what would be the most effective for results on the pitch.

I am not convinced keeping them out there would give us any better results, and by the last game may actually inhibit them.

So what is the point of doing it?

Kevvv
08-20-2009, 11:49 AM
Would you want ot be away from your family for three weeks?


(Do I have to answer that?)


3 weeks is a bit much, but I think they could have stayed out west between Chivas and Seattle, do some team building in a nice part of the country, and get some practice time in along the way. Portland's field may have been available.

TFC Tifoso
08-20-2009, 11:50 AM
Well unfortunately, the make up of USA and Canada forces travel across the country, so its tough to compare the "home base" idea to here, where teams overseas are often 3-5 hours from an away game.

Of course, theres no need to stay on the road for 3 weeks at a time under regular circumstances, but as a one off situation, I think it could be good to have the guys together for an extended period of time at a critical part of the season.

Roogsy
08-20-2009, 11:52 AM
I don't see an advantage to that. That sort of "gelling" needs to happen at the beginning of the season. If it hasn't happened yet, it isn't going to happen now. And with guys that have been training, playing, working, eating and travelling with each other all season long, I would say the opposite is necessary. I am sure some of them want time away from each other or some form of cabin fever could erupt. Especially with the pressures of a playoff spot looking over their heads.

MartinUtd
08-20-2009, 11:53 AM
If a couple of weeks on the road is enough to break a player down mentally, then there wasn't much stability there in the first place. So players in Europe have a more pampered lifestyle, big deal. I'm not trying to come off as overly harsh here, I just feel that using a road trip as a rigorous mental excuse is a bit of a stretch when you're willing to discount the physical rigors of back and forth travel.

scooter
08-20-2009, 11:55 AM
use the savings from the unneeded air fares to take the families too -- rent houses for the boys and their wives and kids let them have a holiday and practice hard too
whatever it takes to pump everyone up and be at the top of their games but i sure agree less travel for the players makes sense i am sure they can arrange practices on real grass too

Jay P
08-20-2009, 11:56 AM
Do NFL teams go on 3-4 week roadtrips away from home? or CFL for that matter?
pointyball would be the best comparison as they also play one game a week.


anways 2-3 week roadtrips work for MLB/NBA/NHL players cause they get to sleep w/ as many strippers/hookers as can during that time

TFC Tifoso
08-20-2009, 11:58 AM
I don't see an advantage to that. That sort of "gelling" needs to happen at the beginning of the season. If it hasn't happened yet, it isn't going to happen now. And with guys that have been training, playing, working, eating and travelling with each other all season long, I would say the opposite is necessary. I am sure some of them want time away from each other or some form of cabin fever could erupt. Especially with the pressures of a playoff spot looking over their heads.

This much I would agree with, but considering the new faces that Coach Cummins seems to be integrating into the starting XI, maybe something good can come out of it.

As for the rest its a matter of opinion, I guess.....I see the pros and cons of this being pretty much equal, but leaving them out west could give the ability to strictly focus on getting results and cancelling out some distractions.

TFC Tifoso
08-20-2009, 12:01 PM
Do NFL teams go on 3-4 week roadtrips away from home? or CFL for that matter?
pointyball would be the best comparison as they also play one game a week.


anways 2-3 week roadtrips work for MLB/NBA/NHL players cause they get to sleep w/ as many strippers/hookers as can during that time

No they don't because NFL teams don't often have 3 or 4 week road trips, and when they do, its often within their division and the way divisions are set up travel distances are minimized.

billyfly
08-20-2009, 12:10 PM
Blame MLS for this stupid sch and MLSE for accepting it.

barca99
08-20-2009, 12:14 PM
I know it would be horrendously expensive, but, for the greater good of the season and to minimize the competitive disadvantage this amount of travel would seem to suggest, should they be staying out west for the full three weeks, going from L.A. to Seattle and then to Colorado before returning home?



No.

The Seattle game is at 4 pm ET, so that won't matter, and it only takes a couple of days to adjust. It would be much better all around to fly out on Thursday. This gives plenty of time to adjust, but still see your families and sleep in your own bed and crap in your own pot.:hump: Anyways, don't soccer players get in trouble on road trips?

Kind of like the question that the States just had with playing in the altitude of Mexico City. Do they go a week early to adjust, or do they show up the day of? Anyways, that's my two cents.

Lucky Strike
08-20-2009, 12:18 PM
3 weeks is long but maybe they can go West for two games together (Seattle and Colorado). That would be only 9-10 days away, lessens travel compared to three back-and-forths and the team could leave Seattle right after the match there to head straight to Colorado to get used to the elevation. The time-zones don't really matter, but the altitude, that's something important.

TFC Tifoso
08-20-2009, 12:24 PM
its not even 3 weeks really......the Colorado game is on September 5....16 days from today....

CoachGT
08-20-2009, 12:26 PM
I'm not convinced that it needs to happen. I understand the sentiment, but comparisons to other sports that supposedly do this are not really relevant. No other sport schedules a three week road trip except as an exception. Not even training camps (except MLB) work that way, except for minor leagues practicing with their parent club.

MLB is typically 10-12 days, for a league that plays every day and has a mandatory rest rule after a set number of consecutive days (can't remember the number but close to 20). During that 10-12 days, there is usually only two or three trips.

Hockey and basketball may be away for a week, but not more unless something unusual is happening.

It is closer to NFL/CFL, but even in the NFL, despite "divisions", there is an unbalanced schedule. And pretty much every division has a three hour flight game - Miami/Dallas/Seattle in their respective divisions, for example.

We've got a bunch of guys on the team with young kids and young families. I think the strain of being away that long is a bit much. Two consecutive games I can see, but not three.

Roogsy
08-20-2009, 12:32 PM
And let's remember the NFL schedule is what? 16 weeks? Plus playoffs. Either way...it's short.

MLS players start training camp in Feb and go to October, with playoffs into November.

30 regular season games, playoffs, Canadian championship/US open, Superliga, CCL...etc.

They are away plenty. The more time at home for them, I am sure they'd benefit from it.

Lucky Strike
08-20-2009, 12:34 PM
Hockey and basketball may be away for a week, but not more unless something unusual is happening.

Not to get off point, but it's not uncommon for hockey teams to be on the road for up to two weeks. It may only happen once a year per team, but it's by no means absurd. Still though, I do agree that three weeks is much too long.

Shakes McQueen
08-20-2009, 12:35 PM
If staying out West helps keep the team rested and alert, then I'm all for it. I'd hope our players are bit more mentally tough, than to actually have their play suffer because they have to go away from their family for a few weeks.

That said, I don't think it's necessary. They play once a week - more than enough days in between to fly back and forth, and get some meaningful practices in.

If they had mid-week games in between those weekends, also out west, then maybe there'd be a reason for it.

- Scott

rocker
08-20-2009, 12:45 PM
i think it might be useful to have them stay in California for a week, then on Friday travel to Seattle. That way they are used to the time change by then. After that, maybe come home right away on Sunday to get some home time. Then go to Colorado on Friday -- I've heard that if you don't have many weeks to get used to altitude, it's best to fly in at the last minute.
This is sort of a compromise plan than spending the whole time on the road.

Roogsy
08-20-2009, 12:50 PM
A combination like is being suggested by Rocker (and someone else earlier) might not be a bad idea. Who doesn't want to spend a week in California? Maybe get some rest, get to know the new kids, and not have to travel as much.

But more than that and I doubt the benefits outweigh the downside.

MartinUtd
08-20-2009, 01:12 PM
A combination like is being suggested by Rocker (and someone else earlier) might not be a bad idea. Who doesn't want to spend a week in California? Maybe get some rest, get to know the new kids, and not have to travel as much.

But more than that and I doubt the benefits outweigh the downside.

Careful though, we don't want them all to end up like Darren Huckerby

Hustle
08-20-2009, 01:16 PM
This year is over, so lets think about next year.

First of all, lets not talk about weeks lets talk about days.

21 days away from home is too much, BUT

Being away for 12-14 days is not that big of a deal...family or not. I think the majority of guys would enjoy it and if you miss you family that much, bring them out for a few days.

Who knows about altitude fitness? How long does it take for it to have any benefit? I am thinking about a 12 days between Colorado and Salt Lake.

Derko
08-20-2009, 03:15 PM
Me, no prob.

For the players, I would say it's a small sacrifice they should be willing to make.

Or should be a small sacrifice required to make!!

James17930
08-20-2009, 08:43 PM
I agree that maybe just staying away for two of the three games would be a good idea, but if that's the case, I think they should go straight from Seattle to Colorado. That way they'd have a week to adjust to the altitude -- which we all know is a huge thing for both Colorado and Salt Lake.

FluSH
08-20-2009, 08:46 PM
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

Suds
08-20-2009, 09:02 PM
I agree that maybe just staying away for two of the three games would be a good idea, but if that's the case, I think they should go straight from Seattle to Colorado. That way they'd have a week to adjust to the altitude -- which we all know is a huge thing for both Colorado and Salt Lake.

That is a good point. Especially for this trip.

Generally, I would say there is no need for them to stay out on the west coast the entire time. They can adjust their training schedule times, sleep, etc., here to adjust to the time difference. The altitude, in this case, is another story.

prizby
08-20-2009, 10:12 PM
i asked this question in another thread, i'd hope they are staying out 3 weeks, its summer time, bring the family with you :p

oh wait..this ain't the mlb where everyone gets paid 100M over 5 years to hit 250 and lose your power cuz u no longer take roids *cough* Vernon Wells *cough*