1. How will teams approach the shortened season?
The shortened USL League One schedule for 2020 brings a number of new challenges for clubs, perhaps most notably the absence of a traditional playoff format. Playoffs for the 2020 season will be the top two clubs in the table meeting for a one-match final. No semi-final. No wiggle room. So, how will teams approach the shortened and more heavily-weighted season? Fans can expect to see a major spark and sense of urgency from the players and coaches in regards to the beginning of the season. Nothing dashes hope quicker than stumbling out of the gate with an 0-4 start, which happened to quite a few L1 teams last year. Players won’t have the same luxury of “finding their groove” and coaches might feel more pressure early on to make changes to their starting 11.
It’s been four months since what was supposed to be the start of Triumph SC’s second season. Catching up with players and coaches during the short preseason that was afforded to them, they were ready to work at creating a path back to the final. With that sense of excitement paused for over a quarter of the year, expect the Triumph to come out of the gates hot.
2. What can we expect from the Triumph bench?
Another change to note this season will be the substitution rule, which will allow five instead of the traditional three for the 2020 season. Having five allowable subs each game definitely makes for strategy changes, but mainly it will allow the players to extend further into the season by maintaining their minutes and their legs. Triumph SC went into the last leg of the regular season and the finals with some big injuries on the table, many of which occurred from the thousands of minutes logged at an unbelievably high pace. With only eight fewer games being played in a much shorter span this season, keeping bodies fresh will be a tall task.
The best argument concerning five subs or three is the further separation the increase could cause between top teams in certain leagues and divisions. It’s true: allowing five subs plays to the strength of deeper, well-rounded teams. The Greenville Triumph are no exception. This team has a deep roster. Remember back a few months ago when the club snagged five former League One players? Colin Stripling from Tucson, Cesar Murillo from North Texas, Trevor Swartz from TFCII, Alex Morrell from Tormenta 2 AND Brandon Fricke from Lansing. Not to mention a handful of players from higher-tiered leagues including Harri Hawkins (USLC), Noah Pilato (USLC), Abdi Mohamed (USLC) and Paul Christensen (USLC).
Five substitutions will not only give Coach Harkes the creativity to mix and match a deep roster, but it will also give the top players valuable rest time while giving new and younger players the development opportunities that often take a back seat once competitive play starts.
3. Will set pieces be a strength or weakness?
Last season, set pieces were a point of concern, and rightfully so. Not including penalties, GTSC converted on less than 2% of its set piece opportunities. We discussed this in 5 Big Questions: Preseason, but unfortunately we never got the chance to revisit thanks to the screeching halt of the 2020 season.
With that being said, four months is a long time, right? Not entirely the case. USL just allowed full-squad training to resume a few weeks ago. And while you can work through set pieces at the small group training stage, it doesn’t resemble the game environment. Let’s just say everything is easier without the 18-yard box being slammed with 20 bodies at a touch-tight distance. We know the ideation and as much of the preparation as possible has occurred. Now, it’s just about execution.
4. Small group training: How will it make an impact?
Individualized and small group sessions are aspects of player development often left to offseason training when wins and championships aren’t at stake. Not to say this type of training never occurs during the regular seasons (it does), but it’s hardly the focus of most sessions. With strict regulations surrounding COVID-19 and a hopeful spirit that the 2020 season would not be cancelled entirely, small group and individual training were all Triumph players and coaches could do to stay prepared while abiding all rules and regulations.
Having chances to speak with several of the players and coaches via Zoom during the pandemic, many of them cited how impactful the small group training could prove to be come match day. Most notably, assistant coach Alex Blackburn discussed positives that came from the isolated training environment saying, “It’s given us the ability to send more specific messaging to a particular group of players.” He continued, “It’s been really positive to have more specific and private conversations with players that you wouldn’t be able to have in full-contact training. It’s not player-focused. It’s team-focused, so you have four or five seconds to get a specific message across and then we have to move forward.”
Hearing the overwhelmingly positive thoughts about the extended time to focus on players and on specific sections of the field leads me to believe the heightened team-cohesion and player understanding will make a major impact throughout the season.
5. How is the emotional and mental state of the L1 players?
The past four months have housed ups and downs like perhaps no other year in history. Back in March when we first launched this series, we were discussing the 5 Big Questions heading into preseason. The players were heading into their peak – fitness, team cohesion, mentality to compete. With a nationwide shutdown, preseason came to a screeching halt followed by isolation, a strict bubble, confusion surrounding the if and when’s of a season to being a few short days from finally stepping onto the field to compete for their crest.
So how do teams deal with the understandable, emotional toll of 2020? For Greenville specifically, it’s a bright spot. The 2020 Greenville Triumph roster is packed full of experienced leaders and veterans with 10 players returning from the 2019 League One Finals squad. In fact, all but one player on the Triumph roster played in League One or higher last season. If anyone can handle the uncertainty of these four months, it’s this group of players and coaches. From what I’ve seen, there is an undeniable excitement to return to play.
