SANDY, Utah -- A few short months after experiencing their best season in club history, there is a definite feeling of excitement shared by Real Salt Lake players and coaches about the upcoming season.
For the RSL side, there is a definite feel of positive progress. There is a concrete sense that a more sure foundation is in place than in years past.
"I really feel like last year we did a good job of establishing a foundation of Real Salt Lake is going to be going forward," coach Jason Kreis said. "I don't think we're going to have to do as much work on that this year."
Thus the 2009 preseason is more about building instead of rebuilding.
Real have the look of a contender going into their first preseason camp this week in Oxnard, Calif. The Utah side managed to keep most of its core intact from last season.
Key international players such as Javier Morales and Jamison Olave were signed to long-term contracts. Nearly all of the first 11 from last season returned as well. In addition, Kreis signed a contract extension that will keep him on the Wasatch Front through the 2011 MLS campaign.
The only major departures were forwards Kenny Deuchar and Fabian Espindola and midfielder Dema Kovalenko. For a club accustomed to a high rate of turnover with past rosters, having so many familiar faces in camp is a welcome change.
"I don't know if the statistics would bear me out, but it feels like this is the most returning players that have ever been back to Real Salt Lake," Kreis said. "I think that has to be viewed as a very positive thing."
That familiarity is a bonus. RSL is already ahead of the curve in building team chemistry. And less time will need to be spent on familiarizing the players with how the coaching staff wants them to approach the game because many of them already know what is expected from them.
Plus, it is a vote of confidence to the players themselves that so many of them have returned to suit up for RSL again.
"There's probably 15 or 16 guys who were on this squad last year -- which can only be healthy for this squad," defender Ian Joy said. "It obviously means that the coaching staff thinks we're all good enough to help improve the team for this year."
A few new faces are vying for inclusion on the RSL roster. Draft picks Jean Alexandre, Raphael Cox and Futhi Bhembe all hope to validate their selections with a strong showing in the preseason.
David Hertel, Kennedy Owusu-Ansah and Alexander Viveros are also looking to go from preseason roster to the regular season roster.
Whoever sticks with the team will do it by embracing the kind of blue-collar play Kreis expects out of his players.
"We just want a group of guys that works hard for each other and buys into the ideals that Jason has taught us," defender Nat Borchers said.
The one challenge that RSL will face, like other MLS clubs, is fielding a smaller squad than in the past. MLS teams only have 24 players this season and the reserve division was disbanded in the offseason.
It means that intense competition will be the name of the game more than ever before.
"It's going to be a very competitive team," midfielder Will Johnson said. "Everybody is going to be fighting for a spot because if you don't play in the first 11 or first 14 or 18, you're not going to be doing a whole lot. And if you do that long enough, it's really going to affect where you are."
Increased competition will have its advantages. With players going for fewer spots and getting on the 18-man playing roster each game becoming more of a necessity, RSL veterans expect the cream to rise to the top.
And they expect the team as a whole to benefit from it.
"This is going to be a smaller squad," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "Training is going to be more intense. It's going to be better competition. So I think the results in the regular season should be better."
RSL will play three tune-up matches while in California this week and next. The Utah side will face Ventura County Fusion this Sunday at 7 p.m. PT. Next weekend will feature a doubleheader -- with RSL playing Chinese team Shandong Luneng Taishan on Friday at 5 p.m. and then facing either UC-Santa Barbara or Cal Poly-SLO on Saturday at 11 a.m.
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