Real Salt Lake’s roster features a mix of savvy veterans and rising young talents with plenty of representation from every level in between. No matter the age or experience level, though, Head Coach Mike Petke expects competition for every starting spot, regardless of the position on the field.
That has been clear in the early going to newcomers Shawn Barry and Adam Henley. Both American-born players with multiple years of experience playing overseas in Europe, Barry and Henley came to RSL for the opportunity to compete for playing time on an up-and-coming team. That eternal competition is the rising tide to a team’s playing level and the philosophy has been evident already as the team goes through the first week of preseason training camp at the Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman.
“You’ve got to compete every day. You’ve got to show what you’ve got every day,” said Barry, who played seven seasons in Austria, Germany and Poland before signing with RSL over the offseason. “There are people that have been established here and so you’ve got to give your all and when your chance comes, you take it.”
The competitive nature of the training sessions was a hallmark for the club during RSL’s late-season push for the playoffs that saw the team go 8-3-4 over the final 15 matches before missing the postseason by a single point.
Although he is only 23 years old, Henley has already seen the importance of spirited training sessions in his six seasons with Blackburn Rovers in England.
“It’s what every team needs. If you don’t have players fighting for their positions, then complacency sets in,” the newly-signed right back said. “As long as we have players battling each other day-in and day-out for that starting position, then we’re going to be a successful team.”
Hard Work Pays Off with a Day Off
Since training camp started on Monday, Petke has been working the team hard and with a purpose. After the sixth training session of the week on Thursday, an eruption of cheers burst from the team when he informed the players that their work had resulted in a day off on Friday.
“I told them before they left that they needed to work in the offseason and come back so we could start on the right foot. I’m extremely happy with the way things have been going,” Petke said. “We really pushed them and I rewarded them with a day off tomorrow.”
The team will return to the indoor practice field at the Zions Bank Real Academy on Saturday for three final days of training before departing for Arizona next week.
