Freddy Juarez Trusts His Players That They Are In A Good Mental, Physical State Despite Current Circumstances

SANDY, Utah – Freddy Juarez addressed media members during his weekly roundtable. This week the head coach talked about how he is communicating with the players, how the games will change assuming that when the league returns there will be no fans as well as how to best bring the team back into training when that time calls.

The players and coaching staff are still communicating via Zoom conversations, and, despite no significant changes to their schedule, the team continues to grow closer despite the challenges that they are faced with. Juarez spoke on how the players have also been advised to do their own personal workouts via Zoom with no coaches.

“You know how it is,” Juarez said. “When your boss or manager is in the meeting with you sometimes the meeting is not as fun as it should be. We have encouraged the players to run their own strength and conditioning classes. If it ends up that they only get two or three exercises in, and they chat for 30 minutes then I am all for that,” Juarez said while discussing the importance of team comradery.

When the league does start back up again, there is a very good possibility that the games will be played without fans. Juarez admitted that the atmosphere is something that makes the games so great, however, understandably realizes that the safety of the public is priority number one.

The Bundesliga (German Premier Football league) has started to allow small groups of players to train together. Juarez admitted that the club has been in contact with “multiple German Clubs” to try and best understand how they are handling the situation so that when RSL returns to the training facility, they can be prepared.

The League announced on Friday, April 17 that the earliest they will re-start their season is June 8. However, that is still very tentative at the moment.

“MLS remains focused on exploring a wide variety of formats for playing the entire 2020 season including pushing back MLS Cup into December or later. Based on the most recent government guidance, we have extended the moratorium on matches until at least June 8. Like all leagues, we are in discussion with out players about changes to player compensation due to the financial impact on the league and our clubs from the COVID-19 Crisis. We are seeking to work collaboratively with the MLSPA to find a solution that provides a safety net for all players, opportunity to earn full salary in the scenario where all matches are played with fans, and in particular provides protection for the players at the lower end of the salary scale.”