The first day of Red Bulls mini-camp at the Giants Stadium Practice Bubble this morning was probably just as one would expect it – competitive players showing a lot of winter rust. Though the soccer was justifiably not the sharpest that RBR has seen, we are happy to report that everyone came through pretty much unscathed.
The 30-plus players cycled through a series of scrimmages in today’s workout. The camp will last until Friday, when the coaching staff will decide who they are going to invite back. Just a few notes:
– Draft picks Jeremy Hall, Jack Traynor and Nick Zimmerman all suited up while 2008 MLS SuperDraft second round selection Eric Brunner was back after spending a year with Miami FC of the USL First Division.
– Among the interested parties watching included current Red Bulls Danleigh Borman, Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Sinisa Ubiparipovic. Sinisa’s brother, Slavisa (a forward who played for Cleveland State University), was one of the players who competed at the camp. Borman just returned yesterday from his native South Africa.
– One player who was training was defender Kyle Schmid, who was attending UC Irvine. Schmid is the son of Seattle Sounders FC head coach, Sigi Schmid.
We quickly caught up with Zimmerman, who did not attend last week’s draft but found out that he was taken by New York on the way back from his gym. Zimmerman primarily played on the right side of the midfield today.
RBR: How did you find out you were drafted?
NZ: I was actually leaving the gym with my friend and I was on my way back home and a good friend at the draft had given me a call and said that I got drafted by the New York Red Bulls. I was pretty excited. This is a team I wanted to go to, they did very well last year and they have great coaches. A couple of minutes later, Jeff Agoos gave me a call and let me know.
RBR: What are your early impressions of head coach Juan Carlos Osorio?
NZ: Coach was extremely easy going and told us to have fun, go at players, things like that. I tried to be myself, it was a fun environment, good atmosphere, the guys are great, and I’m very excited.
RBR: Do you know any of the guys on the team?
NZ: Yeah, I played with Jeremy (Hall) for a while on the same club team (HC United in Tampa, FL) and it was good. We became friends off the field so it’s kinda fun to play on the same team with him.
Tags: Uncategorized
January 20, 2009 at 5:10 PM |
How many of the 30 will be invited back to the next stage? Only the 24 that the roster permits or will there be another round of cuts before then?
January 20, 2009 at 5:13 PM |
The players invited to the camp are the drafted players and those not on the roster last year. This mini camp does not include the first team players, so a majority of those in camp now will not make the team. Those that make the cut are fighting to impress the coaches enough to keep them around for a few more weeks. Only a few might make the 24.
January 20, 2009 at 6:40 PM |
See this is what i’m talking about these are the golden posts i’ve been looking for. Things that only you guys can cover. Thanks for the update.
January 20, 2009 at 7:21 PM |
Great update! Any other notable names in camp? Are all 30 former college players?
January 20, 2009 at 9:22 PM |
Thanks for the answer Red Bull Reader. Good luck guys!