Top Stories

Jeremy Hall’s Training Camp Diary: Entry One

Jeremy Hall (ISIphotos.com) 

                                                Photo by ISIphotos.com

On January 15th, 2009, Jeremy Hall went from college star to MLS first-round draft pick. In less than two months since that memorable day plenty has happened to Hall. He has started training with the MLS Cup finalist New York Red Bulls, playing with and against the likes of Juan Pablo Angel. Hall has also faced the challenge of learning new positions, both right back and central midfield, after having starred for the University of Maryland as a winger.

Through it all, Hall has kept a level head and done a good job of impressing Red Bulls coaches, who have been wowed by his athleticism and encouraged by his attacking qualities and versatility.

Hall is now in Argentina with the Red Bulls as they prepare for the upcoming season and, as part of his trip, Hall has agreed to serve as an SBI correspondent, giving us a glimpse into his first professional training camp.

Here is the first installment of his training camp diary:

Greetings from Argentina

By JEREMY HALL

So far my first preseason as a professional has been one to remember. Making the transition from college to the MLS has been a big learning curve but with the help from my teammates and coaches, it has gotten to be easier as time progresses.

Right now, we are spending two weeks of the preseason in Argentina. The trip, so far, has been what I imagined and more. To get here we had to take a very long ten hour flight. It wasn't that bad because I, surprisingly, slept for most of it.

When we finally got to the hotel, it was a lot nicer than expected. We're staying in the Sheraton Pilar that has a nice pool. We have been doing pool workouts somedays and and had one workout in the gym due to the summer rain. As for the training so far it's been great. The weather is hot, and is especially draining with the two-a-days we have had, but I am definitely okay with it because I would rather be hot than cold. And I heard about the snow back in New York!

For fun I brought a few movies to keep me occupied. There are a few English channels, with the rest being soccer. So I've seen just about every game going on during the day.

Also, to make our stay enjoyable, the hotel put a foosball table and ping pong table in a big room where we have been eating our meals. The room also has a TV and two computers with internet access on them. I would say that the computers and ping pong table have been getting the most usage. Dominic Oduro claims he is the unanimous champion at ping pong. But, we have a few guys on the team that can really play!

Another interesting item of camp is that guys like (Kevin Goldthwaite, (Mike) Petke, (Andrew) Boyens, a few others, and of course the rookies, have been growing some pretty nice mustaches.

Being here we also got the chance to experience both a River Plate and Boca Juniors game. The fans here are something else as you see from little boys and girls to older men and women jumping up and down cheering and singing for their team. Both games were amazing and the atmosphere there was incredible.

So that's it so far from our trip. So far so good!

Comments

  1. I would have liked more of his thoughts on learning two new field positions after being a winger for his college career.

    Reply
  2. Love this feature, need to keep it throughout the season.

    There is NO behind the scenes coverage of the MLS with the little media coverage it gets all ready.

    Pioneer on SBI

    Reply
  3. Wow Ives, first a solid interview with Osorio, and now this? Brilliant. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Hall can do…I definitely have faith that he’ll adapt well.

    Reply
  4. Cool diary. Similar to the one started a few weeks back at soccernet.com. Kind of like the Bernardo piece.

    Reply
  5. Hall will be a quality player for years so come and I personally like this trade..gives the team many various options

    Reply
  6. the name of the organization is red bull new york, the name of the team on the field is new york red bulls….either one works 🙂

    Reply
  7. Is it RBNY? or NYRB?

    I’ve always called them RBNY because that is how i’ve always seen it written by MetroStars fans. On here though it seems everyone not a Red Bulls fans says NYRB.

    Until someone clears it up i will call them RBNY.

    Reply
  8. another solid new feature. impressive offseason for SBI!

    Posted by: J | March 02, 2009 at 06:45 PM

    my sentiments exactly, word for word – great stuff Ives!

    Reply
  9. wow, Ives. You have outdone yourself set again. This is an awesome feature. Thanks Jeremy Hall for taking the time to keep your future loyal fans up to date.

    Reply

Leave a Comment