The Fire play the second in a grueling stretch of five games in 15 days Wednesday, but they say they’re not worried the stress may result in unnecessary injuries and fatigue.
They credit a training regimen installed by Tony Jouaux, the team’s first-year strength and conditioning coach, as they head into Wednesday night’s game against Real Salt Lake at Toyota Park.
The 25-year-old from Auxerre, France, has crafted a detailed program for training, high-tech physical monitoring plus nutritional and rest guidelines that have resulted in fewer injuries and greater game-day stamina.
“I wasn’t here last year, but I heard a lot about injured players,” he said. “This year we don’t have a lot (because) we do a lot of work with injury prevention.”
Jouaux served in a similar position the previous two years at the University of Louisville, where he earned a graduate degree in exercise physiology and helped the Cardinals reach the 2010 NCAA College Cup finals.
“”I tell (interim coach Frank Klopas) and the coaching staff about how long we should play (based on conditioning).”
The intensity varies from day to day.
“When you have a week with a game on Saturday, you have Monday off then Tuesdays and Wednesdays are going to be the hardest days of the week,” Jouaux said. “On Thursday, we’ll go very low (intensity), the lowest of the week, and on Friday we’ll make it higher.”
The goal is to have each Fire player — starter and reserve — at peak condition physically and mentally at the first kick of every game.
“He’s pretty incredible,” Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic said. “Tony takes care of us during the training — how long the sessions are, how intense they are.
“(In games,) if one guy’s tired, another can step in and the level won’t drop. And when you’re not playing, Tony keeps you at a certain level (using) heart rate monitors (and other technology). He tracks our fitness with that. He’s on top of it all.”
Jouaux also has a counter-intuitive approach to conditioning.
“The work had been done some months ago and now it’s maintaining the fitness,” he said. “It’s hard for American players and coaches to understand because they (think) you have to work, work, work.
“Yes, we have to work, but at some point, less is better.”
