LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Preseason workouts, especially under the supervision of Louisville City FC Head Coach James O’Connor, are designed to provide a strong baseline for every player as they work toward the new season.

For Louisville’s players, though, the camaraderie that comes with being reunited with teammates helps ward off the stresses that come with the work ahead.

“Being off, on your own, back at home, you’re trying to stay fit, but when you’re back with the guys it’s a lot more fun to get back to fitness, get back strength, get some touches on the ball,” said goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh this week. “It’s great to be back with the guys, more and more are coming in every day, so soon we’ll be at a full squad.”

An Eastern Conference Finalist in the USL Cup Playoffs in each of its first two seasons, Louisville has quickly established itself as one of the top teams in the USL’s Eastern Conference. A penalty shootout defeat to the New York Red Bulls II last October brought the 2016 season to a deflating end, but also accentuated how close the side had become during the offseason as players took time off before restarting their individual preparation for 2017.

“It’s nice to finally be back with the guys,” said midfielder Mark Anthony Kaye. “You end up being with them for a whole year, and then [being] away from them for three months you realize you do actually miss the players, but it’s good now, we’re doing some workouts to get us ready for down at IMG.”

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Louisville is one of a number of USL clubs that will head to IMG Academy this month to train, the second consecutive season it will have headed to the world-class facility in Bradenton, Fla. for preseason. Ranjitsingh is expecting an arduous fortnight ahead, but with the squad’s mood flying high as the work begins, the end product should provide the right platform for another strong season.

“I think the time down at IMG is going to be a tough two weeks,” he said. “We’ll get prepared for the season, James is a really tough guy, really nailing the fitness on us, so it’s going to be a tough couple of weeks but it will prepare us for the season.”