LA Galaxy cleared to begin voluntary individual workouts Thursday

The LA Galaxy announced they will be able to hold voluntary individual training sessions according to MLS protocol and with the approval of local authorities beginning Thursday.

The first training session comes eight days after the first teams around the league got to resume some kind of training, with all teams currently allowed to do non-contact individual training on outdoor grounds controlled by teams, with enhanced testing and hygiene procedures to hopefully prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Players are allowed to do fitness drills and individual ballwork in distinct zones. From what I’ve seen, coaches are not supposed to run the sessions, but with limited personnel onsite it’s hard to know if that’s the case.

Not all MLS teams have been able to get back into training. As of the end of last week less than half of the teams were on the field again. In California, it’s been a mixed bag: LAFC trained Thursday and Friday last week, the first team in any sport in the state to begin practicing, but they were since “un-cleared” and are awaiting clearance again. Meanwhile, the San Jose Earthquakes haven’t been given the green light and it may be some time before they get it.

All of this comes with increasing reports MLS could move as a whole to one or two locations — Orlando said in multiple reports to be the frontrunner — to train and restart the season. According to a report in The Athletic on Wednesday, teams could train for three weeks or so in the neutral site, then restart play and play a bunch of games in roughly a month’s time at the single site, before returning to home markets to play closed-door games.

One reason the single-site proposal is gaining steam is as a way to get teams from locations where local authorities are not opening up very fast and allow all teams to get roughly the same conditions. It is of course worth wondering if it is truly safe and smart to do any of this, but while it hasn’t yet been confirmed it seems fairly likely to happen.

But first things first: The Galaxy will be back in action (in a sense)! Soccer could be returning before we know it.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.