Revolution and Freedom Training Camp Success
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During the weekend of February 25-27, the USA Revolution and USA Freedom held their final training camp before the 2011 International Cup in Austin, Texas. There were 34 Revolution and 22 Freedom hopefuls competing for a spot on the squads to travel to Australia in August.
"The weekend was a great success and definitely gave us a lot to think about", said Revolution Head Coach, Matt Bishop, "We will be announcing the squad for the 2011 International Cup in the coming weeks".
"I was totally thrilled with the weekend, the women showed enthusiasm and skills that really exceeded my expectations," commented Leigh Barnes, Head Coach of the Freedom, "we had a great group out there and with a few additional players who could not make it to Austin we have an extensive list of players to choose from to select the squad", he continued.
The weekend began Friday evening with an informal dinner in Downtown Austin where Revolution and Freedom players mingled before the weekend got underway.
Saturday was a big day held out at Onion Creek Soccer Park, the possible location of the 2011 USAFL National Tournament. On Saturday morning the Revolution were put through the AFL Draft Combine testing, which includes a range of fitness and skill testing. "My goal with the testing is to establish a way to keep track of the player's progress through the regular season and to determine areas that players will need to concentrate on in the lead up to the International Cup", said Coach Bishop.
The Freedom players were lead by Coach Barnes and Assistant Coach, Milli Bruce, through a range of drills to determine the skill level of players and to build team camaraderie.
The players returned to the hotel for lunch and team meetings before heading back out to Onion Creek for an afternoon of more advance skills and team strategy practice. After a long day the players and coaching staff relaxed together at a team dinner.
On Sunday morning the players were given the opportunity to play a game and put into practice what they learnt on Saturday. The Freedom played first in a 13-a-side, 40 minute game, which was played competitively and in good spirit. The Revolution followed on with a 17-a-side, 60 minute game that was played fiercely, but fairly, with squad positions on the line. Thank you to the local Austin players who helped fill the teams out for these games.
A big thank-you to Simon Boyce of the Austin Crows for all his help with the preparations and assistance over the course of the weekend. The Freedom players would also like to thank Dan Brooks of the Crows for coming out early on a Sunday morning to photograph the game and practice.
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