Força! Soccer Tours

After the initial shock at the aggressiveness and high-tempo of the play, the U.S. players settled in to compete at a fairly good level. The benefits of training within an advanced soccer sub-culture like the one that has been developed at Sporting were obvious as the visiting players learned much about playing the game at an elevated level. The players were forced to adopt the habits of the academy players, playing much more quickly and more physically, withstanding greater pressure and applying greater pressure, as well as orienting themselves more around attacking the goal.

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Measuring Up to the Players at Sporting

The players tested themselves in training sessions at their respective age groups as well as with the ages above and below in order to get a more complete understanding of how they measure up to the level of the Sporting players. The U.S. players also participated in tests of linear speed, non-linear speed, and endurance. The players were presented with the results of their physical testing, as well as written evaluations of their technical and tactical abilities within the context of the academy environment.

A Week as a Youth Professional

The visiting players, elite u15/u16 state & regional-level players from New England clubs, Boston Bolts, Beachside, Western United, Oakwood S.C., and Southeast Premier, lived out the week as members of Sporting's youth professional academy, training, eating and lodging with the Sporting players. The busy week's itinerary also included attending a Sporting sub-16 match, attending two Taça de Portugal semi-final matches (V.Setúbal-Boa Vista, & Estrela da Amadora-Benfica), watching the Sporting A Team train, and a variety of other sightseeing activities in the Lisbon area.

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Six players from the United States will return home today from an intensive week of training with the professional youth academy teams in residence at Sporting's training complex just outside of Lisbon.