Days Start Earlier, Go Longer for Goalkeepers in Preseason Training

February 13, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – FC Cincinnati News Release

Every morning around 9:30 a.m., the majority of FC Cincinnati players and coaches gather in the hotel lobby in Clearwater, Florida, and depart for training together. On the road in the regular season, a bus collects everyone and drives them to and from their destinations; in Florida, minivans serve as the mode of transportation to and from the Walter Campbell Sports Park.

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pat Brennan covered this excellently in 2023 (read that here), and much of it still applies today.

But while most of the team gathers at the hotel lobby, a troupe of goalkeepers has already started their day of training. Director of Goalkeeping Paul Rogers and his band of merry men, including Roman Celentano, Alec Kann, Evan Louro, Paul Walters and FCC 2’s Hunter Morse, depart at least a half hour earlier than the rest of the collection to begin their day. They pile into a minivan driven by Kann, head to the field and get to work.

So, by the time the first outfielders minivans pulls into the parking lot, the goalkeepers had geared up, warmed up, and started their day. By the time the FC Cincinnati outfielders take to the pitch, the men between the metal have already worked up a glisten of sweat and are well into personal drills.

It is an inevitable condition of the position. The attention and presence of goalkeepers are required for the larger training sessions, in turn making time for individual, position-specific training difficult to fit in. This is not to suggest that the work on the field with the outfield players is invaluable; it’s not, but it is usually presented in the context of the outfielders and less so the keepers in particular. The only option is to create more time in the schedule for themselves by being the first to the field.

“For the team stuff, normally we will do certain things, and it’s not really to our benefit,” goalkeeper Roman Celentano explains. “That’s why we do our work at the beginning. So we’re actually doing stuff that’s meant for us.

“With team stuff, we will work on different build-outs and pressing, and that’s important. But on matchday minus two, we will do some of the finishing, and most of the time, it’s a striker having two or three shots in a row not really giving us a chance. It’s easy to get upset or get like, ‘Oh, we’re just getting abused here.’ But I just look at it like it’s not for me, it’s for the strikers, it’s for them to get their reps…