Pontius among those eager to start anew
After a lonely and lengthy offseason, Chris Pontius might be the D.C. United player most grateful for the opening of the 2011 preseason — all eight weeks of it.
Pontius hadn’t touched a ball since September before Monday’s first official practice after ending his 2010 campaign prematurely with hamstring surgery. His confinement to his parents’ couch in Southern California for nearly a month after the injury was torture. But when he returned to Washington to continue his rehabilitation, the rest of his D.C. United teammates were gone.
“I’ve been training here for a while,” Pontius said, “and there wasn’t a lot of people at the stadium so it’s good to see all the faces and have everyone together again.”
Pontius took a gash in his leg from teammate Dejan Jakovic during the session at Greenbelt Sportsplex, but the first practice under coach Ben Olsen was more notable for new faces and healthy bodies.
Participants included goalkeeper Bill Hamid (shoulder surgery), who was also shut down early last season, defender Marc Burch (foot), who played only four games in 2010, and midfielder Clyde Simms, who had sports hernia surgery after the season ended.
“There’s no losses. We’re perfect right now, we’ve got to be in good spirits,” said defender Jed Zayner, who suffered an ankle injury at the end of year.
Rookies suffered the day’s only minor casualties. Defender Ethan White picked up a right calf strain. First-round draft pick Perry Kitchen’s nose was swollen and bloodied after taking a ball to the face.
“It could’ve been a nice little clear but someone crushed it off his face,” said forward Josh Wolff, the team’s newest veteran forward. “He took it well and kept going.”
United opened camp without midfielder Dax McCarty, who is coming off a three-week stint with the U.S. national team, and forward Joseph Ngwenya, who is in the process of returning to the U.S. from his native Zimbabwe. Both players should join the proceedings by the end of the week.
Monday’s most notable absence was the departed Jaime Moreno.
“It’s a little strange not seeing Jaime around because I’ve seen him at basically every practice I’ve ever been here,” Olsen said. “I miss him, and you don’t not miss a guy that’s done so much for this club. Saying that, I talk about new chapter in D.C. United, and the guys have to realize that there’s a void now, and it’s their job to figure out if they want to be the type of guy that helps this team win championships.”
