Preseason always brings a sense of newness about it, but the Houston Dynamo might hold the league lead for the amount of “news” this January.
A new head coach, assistant coaches, and eight new players. A new energy within the team and new hope for fans and players alike.
“This is a new opportunity for the coaches and players like myself who are new to the team, but also guys who have been here for a couple years,” A.J. DeLaGarza, added via a trade from the LA Galaxy, said after the team’s first training session on Wednesday morning. “Just a new opportunity for everyone to help this organization get back to where it was in 2012, in an MLS Cup Final. There are a lot of hungry players.”
With so many new parts in the team, the primary objective at the start of preseason is to get those pieces working together in harmony. That process will take time, says head coach Wilmer Cabrera, but that’s exactly why they have the six weeks of work before the season kicks off on March 4.
“We need to be on the field, and day by day they need to be more comfortable with us, and day by day we need to give them instructions on how we want them to play, the structure, the little things we like as a staff,” Cabrera said. “It comes day by day; we can’t give or expect them to receive all the information in one day, that’s why the preseason is so important.”
After months of working to rebuild the roster, vice president/general manager Matt Jordan was similarly eager to start the process of taking the team from the whiteboards in the office onto the field.
“We’re very excited. It’s a new season, it’s a new group, there are new faces but there are some familiar faces as well. You could feel an edge and a competitive spirit in the air and in the session.”
