It was nice to finally get on the field and start playing. Six weeks to opening day and we can start plotting what kind of lineups we're going to have. — Paul Riley, Philadelphia Independence Head Coach

Philadelphia Independence

Independence Head Coach Paul Riley evaluates the players during a preseason training session.

Sky Blue FC’s Kacey White dreads the initial fitness tests, but looks forward to seeing old teammates and meeting new ones.  The Washington Freedom’s Erin McLeod is just excited to be there one year after visa issues held her up in Canada last year.  The Philadelphia Independence’s Karina LeBlanc and the Atlanta Beat’s Leigh Ann Robinson are among those doing what they did in 2009—helping set a positive course for a brand new franchise.  Some will be honing their games while others will be trying to make enough of an impression to win a final roster spot.  It is WPS training camp 2010.

“You always have the fitness tests that everyone just wants to be over with,” White said from New Jersey where the league champion Sky Blue FC reign.  “But just getting to know everyone (is exciting).  It’s hard to jell right away but I think we have a good group and a very upbeat group that’s ready to get started so that is always exciting.”

In New Jersey and across the country more than 200 players of various skill sets and career accomplishments have gathered to fight it out for what will be 144 full roster spots plus 32 developmental positions.  Although the league boasts one more team than in 2009—the Sol folded while the Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence are starting expansion clubs—an infusion of international talent plus a blue chip draft class figures to make competition particularly tough.

“In the best scenario we have two or three spots up for grabs,” Sky Blue FC coach Pauliina Miettinen said.

While Miettinen was introducing herself to members of the league champion side, in Atlanta and Philadelphia, excitement pervaded as new teams took the field for the first time.

“I was very pleased with our first session this morning,” Beat coach Gareth O’Sullivan said following his club’s first full practice Monday.  The Beat will face opposition for the first time Wednesday when they scrimmage against Auburn University.

Independence coach Paul Riley expressed the same sentiments.  “It was nice to finally get on the field and start playing,” he told phillysoccernews.com last week.  “Six weeks to opening day and we can start plotting what kind of lineups were going to have.”

In California, Marta will join her new FC Gold Pride teammates later this month, including Camille Abily, with whom she combined to score 18 goals with the Sol last year.  On the other end, one of the first FC Gold Pride players to arrive was Kandace Wilson, who has not played since May when a collision with now teammate Marta left her with a dislocated and broken hip.  Rookie Becky Edwards, who is expected to contribute on the defensive side of the ball, could not have been more pleased to be at her first professional pre-season.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to play with some of the best players in the world, and I'm looking forward to competing for a spot and doing whatever I can to help out the team," the Florida State graduate said.

In the Midwest, Lori Chalupny is in camp with Saint Louis Athletica but is still not participating in soccer activities while addressing concussion related issues. Once she gets back on the field, she will be joined by erstwhile Sol standouts Shannon Boxx and Aya Miyama in what promises to be an entertaining midfield to watch.  Also in Athletica camp is India Trotter, whose rights the club retained after she elected not to play in 2009.

The Chicago Red Stars finally have Kate Markgraf on the field nearly 18 months after acquiring her at the league’s initial player dispersal in September 2008.  The World Cup and Olympic champion took 2009 to focus on being a mother to her three children.  Meanwhile her presumed central defense partner Whitney Engen has earned her first National Team call-up and is in the mix for the U.S. friendlies against Mexico at the end of the month.

In Boston, 38-year-old Kristine Lilly has earned her first trip back to the National Team since in over a year.  At Breakers camp she will be looking to feed the ball to a host of new forwards including Algarve Cup star Lauren Cheney, free agent signing Tiffany Weimer, plus Claire Zimmeck, Liz Bogus, and Sarah Walsh.

In Washington, the Freedom are the only returning team to have averaged as much as a goal per game in 2009 and will be the only team whose main objectives in 2010 will be preventing goals rather than creating them.

“I think it’s going to be different this year,” McLeod said.  “It will be a really good battle to see who is going to get those spots.  The competition within our team is going to be far greater.”

In an effort to improve its backline the Freedom had a very defense-oriented draft led by Nikki Marshall and scooped up Brittany Bock in the dispersal draft.

Free Kicks

• Jen Buczkowski of the Independence and Tiffeny Milbrett of FC Gold Pride were singled out by their coaches as having impressed early on.
  The Atlanta Beat are expected to make a major announcement next week regarding the front of their jerseys.
• Breakers camp is without Jennie Nobis and Michelle Enyeart.  Both underwent knee surgery after suffering injuries late last year.
• There was a down note at Atlanta Beat camp when Manya Makoski suffered a season ending knee injury.  The exact nature of the injury is not known at this point.
• The Breakers played a scoreless draw against Boston College early Wednesday.
• Ali Krieger is still in Germany and at this point is not in the Freedom's plans for the season.  Last year she played with the Freedom on a loan arrangement in order to play her way into shape following an injury plagued season at FFC Frankfurt.
• Former WUSA Freedom stalwart Jen Grubb is in camp with Sky Blue FC.
• Although some teams may make or announce cuts earlier, the league wide announcements of roster cuts will be March 16 (pre-season rosters at 24) and April 1 (final rosters of 18 plus four developmental.)
• Here is the back story on the draft day trade that saw the Beat and Independence trade players who were picked back-to-back:  The Beat, picking 39th, took goalkeeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi.  After speaking to her further, they determined it would be best to pursue her career in Philadelphia.  Before the draft was over her rights had been traded to the Independence for Carrie Patterson, who Philadelphia took at no. 40.
• Here is irony:  the Beat recently waived Patterson to allow her to go to camp with Philadelphia where she felt there was a better chance of making the club.

Have a question, a suggestion, or a story idea? Did you see something we didn't? Let me know at thirtymtp@aol.com .

Dan Lauletta is a freelance writer and can be reached at thirtymtp@aol.com . The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Women’s Professional Soccer or womensprosoccer.com.