Mile High Sports Magazine March 2010 : Page 59
But somehow, two-a-days are worth it. The sacrifices made early in any season ultimately pay off when game-time finally arrives. The piercing sound of a coach’s whistle is replaced with the roar of a home crowd. Aches and pains subside as a win in the standings heals all. As a high school soccer player, I was fortunate enough to partake in two-a-days. Ata Razani, our coach who was named the National High School Coach of the Year on two occasions (1986 and 1991), was a relentless taskmaster. Beginning in early August, it was 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. The heat of day was escaped and used for napping, and by 4:00 p.m we were at it again until six that night. If any of Razani’s players were late, they were sentenced to “donuts.” Once a month, Razani, who had spent the better part of 30 days trimming us down to nothing, would call upon all of his tardy players to provide a fried pastry feast for the entire team. He’d end a morning practice 30 minutes early so we could jam our faces full of donuts and juice, reveling in the fact we’d stolen a half hour of our summer back. At the time, we dreaded the torturous schedule. But there’s not one of us who wouldn’t trade it for the hustle (or monotony) of our adult existence. Two-a-days. On one hand, a shuttering thought. On another, they’re an athlete’s right of passage, forming an unbreakable bond, no matter where our lives lead us. soccer fields in Colorado. During camp, the team utilizes two regulation-size, all-purpose turf fields. Even though the Rapids are among the best soccer players in the United States, the basic approach to soccer season hasn’t changed much over the years. My experience was a stroll down memory lane. Luckily for me, I wasn’t asked to make the same sacrifices I was as a high school player. Here’s what I saw and learned from my trip to Rapids Camp. A typical day at camp. Tape sessions, rehab exercises, coaches meetings “Would you like to come out to camp? Check out two-a-days?” HAT WAS THE INVITE I RECEIVED FROM THE COLORADO RAPIDS, the Centennial State’s offering in the world of professional soccer. In October of 1995, it was announced that Colorado would be awarded one of Major League Soccer’s original 10 franchises. Fifteen years later, the Rapids play in their own state-of-the-art stadium and have become a fixture within the region’s sports landscape. It seemed, however, that despite the excellence of the players involved, or the organization itself, there was a surprising constant I was all too familiar with – these guys still have two-a-days. As if traveling back in time, my eyes dimmed and my throat triggered a well-known “gulp.” Ah, yes, two-a-days. “Sure,” I said, realizing that these days my participation in two-a-days would be less taxing. “I’m game.” Two weeks later, I found myself strolling up the sidewalk along the east side of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – the home of the Rapids. This, I soon found, was a daily ritual of the Rapids players - the roughly 200-yard trek toward the practice fields, where the dread of two-a-days would ensue. Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, at least for now, is ultimately “home” for these guys; it’s a place where most of their waking hours are spent prior to the start of MLS season (March 26). Most of the Rapids partake in some type of “pre-practice” conditioning or training room activity before making the 9:45 a.m. hike up the hill toward the practice fields. But from there, it’s two-a-days per usual. The complex itself not only occupies Denver’s newest sports stadium, but its 917 acres play host to 24 of the best-kept milehighsports. com MARCH MA CHR 201020 01 59 Walk to practice fields from locker rooms
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