FC Dallas to Begin Individual Player Workouts on Monday, May 11 at Toyota Soccer Center
FC Dallas will begin individual player workouts at Toyota Soccer Center on Monday, May 11 at 8:30 AM CT. FC Dallas players, staff and coaches return to the facility on a limited basis for the first time since March 12, following the league’s announcement to suspend the regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team will have two separate training sessions running Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings consisting of four players per field to allow the maximum amount of space needed for players to comply with safety protocols in place. The team will rest on Thursday and Sunday. All individual workouts are voluntary and may not be in conflict with local public health official or government policies.
Due to health and safety protocols, media access to the training facilities is prohibited. FC Dallas will provide b-roll and imagery following the individual player workout sessions. In addition, FC Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez will address the media in a video conference call via Zoom on Monday, May 11 at 3 PM CT.
MLS announced May 1 that players may begin to use outdoor team training fields for individual workouts starting May 6, in compliance with detailed health and safety protocols that were created in consultation with medical and infectious disease experts.
The individual player workout protocol prohibits access to club facilities including but not limited to locker rooms, team gyms and team training rooms. Team gyms and training rooms may still only be accessed by players receiving post-operative and rehabilitation treatment, as directed by the club’s Chief Medical Officer.
FC Dallas’ plan that outlined how the team will implement health and safety protocols was approved by MLS along with local authorities. The protocols include:
- Restricting training facility access to essential staff only, with specific staff listed in the plan.
- Sanitization and disinfection plans for all training equipment and spaces, including disinfection of any equipment used by players (balls, cones, goals) between every session.
- Completion of a Standard Screening Assessment survey by each player prior to every arrival at the training site, and temperature checks upon arrival at the facility.
- Staggered player and staff arrivals and departures, with designated parking spaces to maintain maximum distance between vehicles.
- Player use of personal protective equipment from the parking lot to the field, and again on return to the parking lot.
- Staff use of the appropriate personal protective equipment throughout training, while also maintaining a minimum distance of 10 feet from players at all times.
- Hand washing and disinfectant stations for required use before and after individual workouts.
- Clubs will have the use of the outdoor fields at their training facility, divided into a maximum of four quadrants per field. A maximum of one player per quadrant may participate per training session with no equipment sharing or playing (passing, shooting) between players.
- An Emergency Action Plan for all COVID-19 related issues.