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Steel FC Character and Quality Growing After First Week of Preseason

By Bethlehem Steel FC Communications, 02/07/18, 6:30PM EST

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With the club's first exhibition around the corner, healthy competition already taking place

With the calendars turned to February, hours of hard work are taking place at YSC Sports in Wayne, Pa., as Bethlehem Steel FC prepares for its third season in the United Soccer League. After kicking off preseason training last week, Steel FC is hard at work as it trains for its first exhibition of the season against FC Motown on Saturday, February 10.

“I think we’re in good shape after the first week of preseason,” Bethlehem Steel FC head coach Brendan Burke said. “We’re really happy with how the first week has gone in terms of intensity and the level of competition. We have a number of trialists with us but a number of [Philadelphia Union] Academy kids in the group and  all have done really well to this point. I think we are ahead of were we’ve been in the past but we have a lot of work ahead of us in the coming weeks.”

Along side MLS SuperDraft selections by the Philadelphia Union, numerous trialists and a mixture of new and returning members of the Union Academy, Steel FC’s coaching staff has relied upon its returners from last season’s USL Cup Playoff run.

“The guys we brought back already have an idea of what is expected in our training sessions and it’s important to have that core that knows the expectations, the system and how we prepare for a USL season,” Burke said. “Those guys are able to help us teach and get everyone else up to speed.”

Although sessions are just a week old, Burke says there is a different level in this year’s preseason roster compared to previous seasons.

“We have a quality core group and I really like the character in the group,” Burke said. “There is good response session after session. In the past we might have had players that wouldn’t stay at a high level every session but there aren’t any players like that this preseason. It’s going to make for some hard decisions coming up.”

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