Philadelphia Union players are fit, anxious for more than individual training

With one week of training down, Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin thinks his team is ready and rearing for more.

 “Overall, [it has been] a very positive week… our players have had a great mentality and made the focus on building fitness towards the new start of the season,” Curtin announced during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

Over the past week of individual training, Union players who have been able to report have spent time improving their fitness and getting back into their groove, and Curtin believes that the time spent in Delaware has paid off. Jose “El Brujo” Martinez is back in market but Aurelien Collin and Ray Gaddis are still excused.

“One proud thing that I had from the group was this week, our second week, of individual training we ran that same fitness test that we ran in January before preseason started. Every player improved where their fitness was… so that’s something as a coach that makes me sleep a little easier but they’re in shape right now,” he said. 

Curtin looks forward to moving on from individual training sessions and progressing toward small group workouts.

“That next step that everybody’s itching for is when we can compete, even if it’s only in twos, threes, and fours,” he said. “That’ll feel like a breath of fresh air and a breath of life to the guys.”

However, Curtin still recognizes that making sure everyone is safe is still a priority.

“It’ll come down to doing what’s safe first and then, you know, we’ll move on to that phase and then ultimately, the game that we all love which is everybody out there competing.”

According to a recent ESPNFC report, the league is considering having teams stay longer in their home markets training before traveling to Orlando, where the proposed plan is for teams to compete in a tournament for a little more than a month.