After a week at home to open training camp consisting of daily sessions and an intra-squad match, Republic FC did what many teams do to boost their preseason team-building and on field preparations. Monday, they got on a plane heading south to Tucson, Arizona to take advantage of warmer weather and bring the club together off the pitch away from home.
The club was one of four participants in the annual FC Tucson Desert showcase, meaning the first preseason matches of the season were on the docket. In addition to continued work on the training pitch, the club opened its exhibition slate that will continue through March 4.
Wednesday, the club’s first match against Chicago Fire FC saw every player in camp get minutes in a 4-0 defeat. The result was not that mattered, rather, it was that the squad competed for 90 minutes and kept their toughness against a team weeks ahead in their preparations for the season.
“Being able to get everyone 45 minutes [against Chicago] was really important, and [it was] great to come out of it at full health,” said Mark Briggs on Thursday. “There’s a lot we can learn from.”
The new members of the squad showed well, and the contest provided a strong platform to progress forward from. Even if a tough second half sealed the result, their overall performance set a good baseline. Saturday, the club will look to build on it in another contest, this time against Real Salt Lake.
The week also provided further opportunity for the new faces to get integrated with the team – including some who had yet to wear the club’s crest. With fewer new players than in 2022, the task isn’t as tall, but still is just as important to keep the level of cohesion the club achieved last season on and off the field. Team bonding throughout the week, and important minutes shared on the field between the returners and new arrivals accomplished arguably one of the trip’s most important goals.
“It’s really important to get the new guys in as fast as we can, and get them integrated into the group,” said Briggs. “We want to get them familiar with who we are and what we want to achieve. And we’re in a beautiful place to bring them together.”
The club won’t come home to Sacramento just yet, even if their stay in the desert is up. After Saturday’s match against Real Salt Lake, the Quails head east to Texas. On Wednesday, another MLS foe awaits them – Austin FC – in a closed-door contest at Q2 stadium.
