Tyson Wahl has been there before.
Entering his 10th year in MLS, Wahl's career has included stops in Kansas City, Seattle, Montreal and Colorado before the defender arrived in Columbus ahead of the 2013 campaign. Now an established presence in the Crew SC locker room, Wahl and other veterans are working to retain the chemistry that was so vital to the club's success last season after the departures of Eric Gehrig, Bernard Anor and Josh Williams, among others.
"We’re going to dinner every night with each other," Wahl explained. "We’re driving around three huge, awkward-looking vans and we’re spending a lot of good time with each other."
He continued: "We have team meals together, we’re socializing in the afternoons: cards, video games, movies and we’re trying to get to know [new players] as quickly as possible. We did lose some personality guys in the locker room, some really good guys. Those are big losses, but the team has to move on and look forward, and I think we have a good group again."
Striker Kei Kamara's career is not dissimilar to Wahl's. The Sierra Leone native's career has taken him to Columbus as a rookie, San Jose, Houston, Kansas City, Norwich and Middlesbrough in England, before arriving back in Columbus in October.
Having been "the new guy" before, Kamara says there's no divide between newcomers and returning players.
"Off the field, definitely, we hang out a lot," Kamara said of preseason camp. "We don’t differentiate the guys, saying ‘You’re a new guy,’ or ‘You’re a rookie.’ That’s never been me in any locker room."
Both in their 10th seasons as pros, Kamara and Wahl have taken a "lead by example" approach in Crew SC's training sessions.
"Definitely, when we’re on the field — it doesn’t matter what we’re doing — we want to show that our veteran experience and lead by example," Kamara said. "If [younger players] see us working hard, they see us believing in the system as the coaching staff has implemented, everybody else is going to get on board and follow that. We lead by example, but at the same time, when we’re off the field, we’re still family. We’re trying to build something here together."
Wahl adds that the chemistry on the field has come quickly in camp
"We’ve really only known some of these guys for four or five days now, but when we’re out there on the soccer field, you get to know them pretty quickly and you learn a lot about them," he said.
Twenty-eight players are currently in camp with Crew SC in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. as Wil Trapp and Justin Meram are currently on international duty. Eight players are new to the club in 2015.
