Nashville SC coach Gary Smith: 'This feels like a third preseason'

Gary Smith is back at Currey Ingram Academy leading training once again. Nashville SC still has played just two matches, but in Smith's eyes, the return to training under the sweltering heat feels like a third preseason.

The Nashville SC coach, staff and players returned to the field July 20  for the first time since June 30 to prepare for the MLS Is Back Tournament in Orlando. Nashville SC was withdrawn by Major League Soccer on July 9 after nine players tested positive for COVID-19.

But with news Friday about the possibility of MLS returning to regular-season play in late August, Smith is focused on getting players ready.

"The guys went from being – I'd like to have thought – one of the fittest groups in Orlando to one of the most inactive groups in three weeks," Smith said Thursday. "There's a lot of sharpness, match fitness and general mentality that's lost. 

"Monday and Tuesday were very much about getting the guys into a mental and physical place that felt familiar, without going crazy."

Having to re-introduce bodies to the wear and tear once again after three weeks away does indeed test one's composure. Another challenge is the delegation's coronavirus testing three times a week so that training can continue.

Nashville SC tests all staff and players involved on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, in accordance with health protocols provided by the league and local health experts. 

Before that, Smith said, Nashville's travelling delegation in Orlando was ordered to complete four additional days in quarantine when it returned. Smith stayed in a guest bedroom at his Nolensville home, while many players were provided lodging accommodations in Nashville if they did not have space available away from their families. 

Nashville's delegation returned from Orlando on July 13, and the four-day quarantine started the next day. Smith said all delegation members needed to test negative twice for the coronavirus before training was cleared. Results were confirmed prior to Monday morning.

Now, Nashville SC can move on, and Smith is focused on four pillars during the team's return to the field.

"The main thrust of what will be a month to prepare for a (fall) home-and-away schedule will be about (ensuring) the foundational pieces of the group – what we look like when defending deep with the team as a whole, what we look (like) when we're creating (chances), pressing (defensively) and what we look like building (in possession)," he said.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has been optimistic since the announcement of the MLS Is Back Tournament in June that a regular season would resume soon. Smith reignited such optimism Thursday. 

Smith confirmed "pretty much everyone" is training, aside from a couple of players sitting out because of injury.

"The last five months haven't been ideal for anyone," Smith said. "And I believe the players have made the very best of everything that they've tried to be involved in. It's been an incredibly crazy period in time. There's not doubt about it."

For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake.