Intro To Indy

It’s all about the climb. It’s a timeless adage, sure, but for the Indy Eleven it may just be what 2016 is all about.

Every climb starts at the base, which in the case for “Indiana’s Team” is the six-week preseason journey that kicks off in less than a week’s time.

Trips short and long in nature are scheduled across three different states as part of a nine-game preseason test leading up to the April 2 opener at Tampa Bay. The first step of the trek that is the NASL season begins next Monday in Indianapolis with physicals and the first team meeting, followed by a day of fitness tests on Tuesday.

Still fresh at his post in the Circle City, new coach Tim Hankinson is ready to take the Boys in Blue in a new direction. With kick off to the regular season just under two months away, things have been taking shape long before the players’ report date was set in stone.

“You have to understand what’s at stake, and that’s how you develop your plans and preparation,” Hankinson said. “The preparation becomes almost an urgent vitality to be in midseason form because you can’t get off to a slow start. Our first two weeks is about getting players adapted, starting to build their season-long fitness base, and getting them organized, because we’re going to have that series of eight preseason matches.”

While fitness will be a focus during the opening run in Indy, right behind it will be installing a new philosophy and team shape. With just 11 returning members from the 2015 season being joined by up to a dozen newcomers, it is necessary to have players old and new buy in to the system together – and quickly.

“We’re bringing in the backbone of the team," Hankonson said. "When you have so many new faces coming in, and important players coming in, it’s different than when you are building around a returning core. The team goals will be about getting our concepts understood. How are we going to play our flat four? Who decides to hold the line, drop, step?”

What’s just as important as getting everyone on the roster used to each other is getting them used to their new surroundings. After having recently moved to the Indianapolis area himself, Hankinson knows that it can be a struggle.

“This initial period is more about getting the guys into their apartments and getting used to how to get from one place to another," Hankinson said. "We think it’s more important to be there to assist them during this time rather than over-occupying them with activities before they’ve got their families settled, or their cable hooked up or their internet going. The sooner we can get them settled into their new lives here the more focused they can be on the field.”

Setting the balance between work and rest will be one of the biggest challenges for Hankinson and his staff during a packed preseason calendar. However, Hankinson thinks the long hours together during the first weeks of camp will provide the necessary foundation to build the team’s collective spirit and identity.

“A lot of team bonding comes from just putting in the hard work," Hankinson said. "We don’t need to get into a lot of off-the-field activities just yet. In a way, the work we do on the field and during training at IFAST is like being in the trenches together, and from that shared experience players can bond. To climb a mountain and win a cup, it’s about every player looking at each other with respect and looking at each other as an equal – no one is better than another. When you’re willing to share the load equally then it makes it easy to lift the group to the top."

If every step goes right, that long climb to the top will last 271 days, marking the Saturday of The Championship weekend in mid-November. It all starts with 14 days in Indy starting Monday.