The artificial turf pitch at Mercy Health Training Center looked more like the environment of a Scandinavian nation's team session, with the mounds of snow lining the outskirts of the pitch. The grass pitches the team uses throughout the summer rested neatly under a blanket of snow just off to the side of the training pitch that was cleared off, with a tarped tucked over the top of it to protect the plant playing field, but with gloves, hats, and neck scarves abound to The Orange and Blue had their fourth training session of the season.
New stars made their media viewing debut after a week of indoor work closed to the public, and a handful of trialists also joined training as the club explored its options for roster construction. In addition to these newcomers and returning stars, several FC Cincinnati 2 players joined in with training as the club (as a whole) starts its preparation for 2025.
"A good starting point," Pat Noonan said after training on Friday. "It's always kind of fresh in the first couple days. There's excitement. You have a lot of new faces, and we've had to sprinkle guys in each day. So the attitudes are good, that's expected.
"It's a new season, new opportunities, but the guys have been very observant. They're attentive in the meetings, we've been throwing a lot of stuff at them just to help them step on the field and be the best versions of themselves."
FC Cincinnati will depart for their month-long stay in Clearwater, Florida, on Monday. Still, the week's worth of training in Cincinnati – both on and off the field – has been valuable. With so many new faces in training a point of emphasis for getting everyone on the same page has been providing thorough video sessions and other informational instruction off the field so players can perform at their best when stepping on the field.
An important detail for this year's preseason training regiment is that it is the second season where FCC will compete in continental competition. The Concacaf Champions Cup will kick off three days before FCC's MLS opener, so preparing for a quick start out of the gate is vital. Last season, FCC operated mostly in unfamiliar waters. This year, they have a little bit more experience and are looking to adapt how they structure training to prepare themselves to come out strong.
"Training structure," Pat Noonan said as the key thing they'll change. "The rhythm we understand, but some of the things that we wanted to work on after seeing our group last year, areas that we can improve…specifically, some of the ideas that we want to look at to cover over the five, six week period before we're headed to Honduras. I think that's probably been the biggest difference."
The elephant in the room, though, is the attendance, or lack thereof, of key players for FC Cincinnati.
Despite a report date at the start of the week for medical evaluation and formal training beginning on Tuesday, Luciano Acosta, Luca Orellano and Yuya Kubo had not reported to camp and were unexcused absences. Since the Friday press conference, Orellano has arrived in Cincinnati for medical evaluations, but the other two remain absent at this time.
Pat Noonan made clear at his press availability that the absences were unacceptable and that regardless of preference or situation, it was his job to report them to the team.
"Disappointing, certainly for what we expected to get us started and starting off on the right foot. There's been discussions, but we'll handle those more internally and move forward. But disappointing they're not here," Noonan said. "Like I said, it's disappointing. There's a lot of guys that would love different contracts, different situations, but they showed up. Whether you like it or not, you have an obligation to show up, and in that time frame, you hope to find solutions for things that you might not see eye to eye on."
"So for me, you have a job. And you show up for your job, whether you like how things are going or not, and respect your teammates, your coaches, the club, in a way that shows that despite not being pleased, you're going to be a good pro."
The absences have impacted training in that, as previously mentioned, the season gets off to a fast start, and every training session they miss is an opportunity lost to get the team connected faster. It similarly doesn't help that the players absent play a significant role on the team and unexcused absences are likely to only add unneeded noise around the team, rather than a productive work environment.
That being said, the team is operating without them and moving forward. Noonan highlighted how the good work players who have reported are doing on the field is not diminished by those away from it, and the energy the group in attendance has brought has caught the attention of the coaching staff in a positive manner.
"We've seen some really good things," Noonan said of the first week of training. "Guys that have kind of, you know, made you raise your eyebrows a little bit. Now it's a matter of, 'is that consistency?' Are we just seeing a one off day or two days? So, there's a couple intriguing pieces."
One player highlighted in the scrum was FC Cincinnati 2 center-back Brian Schaffer. Schaefer, 22, was FCC's first-round draft pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft and was a significant contributor to the MLS NEXT Pro teams Eastern Conference Regular Season title-winning team. Now in his second season with the club, the University of South Florida product is starting to stand out a little bit more.
He is in a unique predicament, but he's taking advantage of it. With several center backs away from training (Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund rehabbing and Miles Robinson with the USMNT), younger players have been thrust into the spotlight for first-team drills. And while Noonan said the club is still seeking center back depth options, the Head Coach did spotlight Schaefer as a standout through one week of training.
"I think Brian has had a really strong start," Noonan continued. "It's probably a little bit easier for him having been around…(but) we're limited as far as depth at the position and I think Brian's stood out the most in a positive way."
There is a long way to the start of the regular season, and preseason is now just four days old. But this week formally starts the 2025 calendar for FC Cincinnati, and while there are certain things to iron out, the momentum seems to be pointing in a positive way, and – eventually – actual soccer will be upon us.
FC Cincinnati will play its first preseason game in a week's time; taking on CF Montreal in Clearwater. If it feels like we just got started, you'd be right, but from a certain point of view, we are off to the races.
