Real Salt Lake players got back on the field today after enjoying the day off yesterday. The team ran through most of their normal drills working on their passing games, practicing team defense, finishing around the goal, and trying to integrate/re-integrate Kyle Beckerman, Luis Gil, and Nick Rimando to the rest of the team. Kyle and Nick were both back from USA training camp after spending the last several weeks working with a team USA that strangely resembled an MLS all-star team. Luis meanwhile was at practice for the first time after being picked up by Real midway through last week. All three looked very comfortable with their team mates and should have no trouble getting into the swing of things.
Luis was one player I paid close attention to throughout practice. While he is just 16 years old he looks very confident in his abilities and although he has a lot to learn, he didn’t appear out of place practicing with an MLS side. He has a decent first touch and saw the field well in scrimmage. He will need some time to get familiar with his new team mates but he appeared creative and generally found himself around the ball in the attacking third. His defense looks to be the biggest area he will need to improve but with this being his first practice I’m going to give him a pass.
Loading ...
