FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – With 13 of 34 games played so far this campaign there’s still about two-thirds of the MLS season left to play, and the New England Revolution understand their job is far from over if they want to cement their place as a true playoff contender.
While skill undoubtedly plays a large role in the overall success the squad has already achieved this season with their East-leading 7-3-3 record, key to their continued progression is the ability to keep their bodies fresh as they play condensed stretches through the end of the regular season in November.
While the Revs are nearing the end of a 10-day break from games, it was sandwiched between stretches of five-games-in-18-days and six-games-in-23-days, a run that begins Saturday evening against Atlanta United.
“That’s what we do,” said head coach Bruce Arena. “It’s year-round, it’s not just these summer months. It’s what you do throughout the season.
“We obviously gauge where the guys are at. Guys that are playing the most minutes may need a little bit of a break. We find the right balance to it and hopefully keep the guys as fresh as we can.”
Luckily, the Revs are up to the task, and ready to tackle the hectic summer timetable.
“These are two months we have probably the most games out of the whole calendar, so it’ll be a very, very demanding period of time,” said Adam Buksa. “We have a 25-player roster. Everyone is ready to play, so I’m pretty sure there will be rotations on the team.
“For now, basically everyone is healthy, ready to go. So, I don’t think we’ll have any struggles with that. It’s also very important to take care of each other, of ourselves, and make sure that we are ready to go whatever comes next.”
This concept of rotation is universal throughout the team, and every player will be ready when called upon.
“I think that depth is going to be a big factor for us,” said Teal Bunbury. “A lot of these games are going to be on the road in tough environments, so I think everyone’s just going to have to be ready physically, mentally, and emotionally, because it’s going to be grueling."
One method the team uses to keep each other healthy throughout crazy stretches is increasing the intensity in training when there are longer breaks between games, while strategically keeping practices amidst the consecutive matches brief and productive, allowing the players to also recover simultaneously.
“I feel like last year with the condensed schedule that we had, it kind of did prep us for this, but this is fairly unique,” said assistant coach Dave van den Bergh. “With the national teams when I’ve been involved in World Cups and everything, it was much the same stuff because every three days you had a game and we had very little time to prep for the next one, so it was a lot of regeneration and trying to get the guys healthy for the next one, which is what this week is going to be.”
“I think trainings are going to be short and sharp, but we’re going to have to be focused,” said Bunbury.
“I think that you can always learn from previous experiences, and I think that we’re going to have to be ready for what’s coming.”
The Revs will be locked in for Saturday’s match at Atlanta United, with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes) as they start another condensed run of games.
