Dear MLS coaches: You’re doing it wrong

Why Major League Soccer teams should shorten preseason camps

Major League Soccer has certainly reached its dog days. Some matches have lacked a little zip and zing lately. The quality remains OK, it’s just the speed and desire to attack that’s a little watered down.

Teams look a wee bit tired. Why are they weary? Lots of reasons, starting with the brutal heat in some places. And the travel in this league, much tougher than most leagues around the world, exacts a heavy toll.

All of which is why MLS teams need to better manage the way they train their players right from the start.

To wit: their preseasons are way too long. The whole enterprise starts breaking down before the first ball is kicked in league competition.

(For more on this weekend's MLS matches, read my weekly Monday Five Things to Know at SI.com, which should be posted soon is posted now.)

Manchester United, perhaps the world’s most popular club, kicks off its long Premiership campaign later today. Man U certainly has its flaws, but it’s safe to say that Sir Alex Ferguson and his men know a thing or two about how to get it done. And they know how to run a preseason camp.

Their camp began for most players around the second week of July. That’s about six weeks. For many of the first-teamers, who needed an extended break, the preseason will be more along the lines of two or three weeks.

Inter Milan is the reigning European champion. New coach Rafa Benitez began Inter’s training on July 26. The Milan club begins Serie A play on Aug. 30. That’s even shorter, at about five weeks.

So, why, for the love of Sir Bobby Charlton, do most MLS managers insist on preseason camps than last 8 and 9 weeks?

I’ve asked MLS managers in the past about it. Plenty of times. And I’ve yet to get a good answer. My theory: it’s groupthink at work. Managers and GMs often believe that eight or nine or weeks of preseason fitness, friendlies and ceaseless practices is too darn long. But most are afraid to do anything about it. Why? Because that’s how everyone else does it. If they rock the boat and aren’t successful, everybody assumes it’s because they weren’t even smart enough to start preseason training at the same time as everyone else.

One MLS manager, when I pressed him a little, finally said, “Well, that’s when we start paying ‘em. So I guess we think if we’re going to pay them, we may as well have them in camp.”

So there you go. Tail waggin’ the dog.

The problem, of course, is that players break down. And they get tired. (A doctor once told me he hated working MLS preseason training because he got dog tired of treating the same overuse injuries over and over again.)

Real Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis decided to take a stand this year. He let most other clubs jump in as usual. His team was the last to begin organized practices, about two weeks after most MLS clubs. Here’s what Kreis told me at the time:

 “What we learned from last year and the year before, and what I learned from my years as a player, is that [what they did before] is too long,” Kreis said. “You just get to the point in preseason where you are sick and tired of it and you are so ready to start playing meaningful games.”

Kreis had noticed in 2009 how his side reached preseason top form about six weeks into training camp, during a tournament in Charleston.

“I think in our league there was a lot of, ‘Well, if they are doing it we had better to it, because we can’t let anybody get a competitive advantage over us,’ ” Kreis said.

Fast forward to mid-August. Kreis’ side looks as fresh as anyone. Fresher than most, in fact.  RSL has just one loss in all competitions since early June. And they’ll need to be super fresh, as CONCACAF Champions League begins this week.

My guess: preseason training for plenty of clubs will get shorter next year. Now that Kreis and RSL have led the way, others will be less reluctant to jump in.