The Black & Gold returned to training at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Tuesday morning with a light session ahead of Wednesday's friendly against the Chicago Fire. Head Coach Robert Warzycha will look for more stamina out of his squad against the Fire on Wednesday as it prepares for the MLS season to begin on March 2.
Brook Hamilton (above), the Crew's Strength and Conditioning Coach, is the man in charge of making sure each player's fitness in on par.
"While we're here, we're trying to get established a good base that we started in Columbus," Hamilton explained Tuesday. "With the multiple games we have here, it's enabled us to establish some good game fitness."
"In between those games, we're looking at threshold training and pushing the players' threshold up, which is obviously increasing their overall fitness level," Hamilton added. "We're also focusing on a lot of things like corrective nature and strengthening nature in our off-time when we're in the gym and off the field."
With fitness and condition being a crucial part of preseason training, Warzycha is relying on Hamilton to get his players match ready.
"The players know that physiologically, [Hamilton] puts all the programs together and makes sure the guys do enough work and get the rest they need," Warzycha said. "We as the coaches, we push the players but Brook is the one sometimes that puts the foot on the gas pedal. He monitors everything and makes sure we're doing the right things [in training]."
Hamilton is in his second season with the Crew after serving as a strength coach for IMG Academy, where he worked with athletes in a variety of sports, including current and aspiring MLS, NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL players; the Guangdong Winnerway Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers of NASL.
Hamilton brings an expertise of soccer-specific strength training to the Crew.
"You always have to address the sport by its individual needs and necessities," Hamilton said. "With soccer and the amount of ball striking the players do, everything has to do with increasing the odds of what we're trying to get switched over and correct."
The Black & Gold took Tuesday afternoon off to prepare for Wednesday morning's match against Chicago. The Crew kicks off against the Fire at 11:00 a.m. ET at IMG Academy. You can stream all of the action right here on TheCrew.com.
