After the team’s lone day off on Saturday, the team returned to training on Sunday, focusing on strength and conditioning.
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Gym Session*
Players gathered in the gym at 8:30 a.m. to begin their workout. Strength and conditioning coach Guido Bonini had a large whiteboard full of information and the training staff had exercise equipment scattered all over the room.
The players went through warmup circuits that involved box jumps, light overhead presses, and medicine ball squats. After warmups, they then completed multiple rounds of strength exercises, including bench press, Bulgarian lunges, and deltoid raises. Bonini emphasized lifting heavy and even paused the workout to challenge some players to take on heavier weights.
Beach Session
The team then walked across the street to the beach where cones and poles were already laid out. Field players went through several conditioning exercises, such as sprints and liners. Each repetition seemed to get harder as the sand loosened beneath their feat. Meanwhile, the goalkeepers and coach Carlos Roa focused on agility training, diving, and punching. One drill had the goalkeepers jump over a gate, dive to make a save, then return over the gate and make another diving save.
The beach session concluded with strenuous runs along the shore before players returned to a cooler full of protein shakes and permission to jump into the ocean.
