It’s only been three weeks but so far this preseason has definitely been exciting.

We had our first 14 days of camp in the beautiful soccer specific resort in La Manga, Spain, where we played a couple of European teams. For me I was happy to extend the good weather from California (home) before getting completely situated in the New York winter.

Although the tapas and great weather was some of what we were looking forward to, the main focus was of course on the field and on the business of improving each and every day as we begin the preparations that will be the base for the rest of the year. The attitude has been great so far. Priorities are mostly to sure everyone is staying healthy and getting fit for the nine month season ahead.

So far results have been quite positive, as well as our quality of play on the field. There’s a definite excitement in the air as guys can’t wait for the first game against Santos that we play at Red Bull Arena. For now we have one more week at MSU before we head to Orlando for two weeks to continue preseason. While we’re down there we’ll be scrimmaging against some other MLS teams. I’ll have an update on which ones after we arrive.

In Spain we had some friendly poker games. My luck started off great, winning two of three tournaments, then the rook or the “ringer” as I call him (Austin da Luz), came in and swept four tourneys in a row. So just a heads up if you ever see him at a poker table; steer clear. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Besides the competition on the poker table, we’ve added some real quality and exciting players to the team that will help in our quest to return to the MLS Cup 2010. Although its’ early in the preseason process, I can tell that we’ve made strides not only on the field as a team, but at becoming a tight knit group off of it. We’ll continue to work though. Every day is another opportunity to improve.

Questions or thoughts? Let me know, I’d be happy to answer anything soccer or not.
–LSass.