Whitecaps coach hopes Welsh getaway inspires great season
Vancouver's professional soccer team is in Wales for 11-day training camp
The Vancouver Whitecaps FC are in Wales for a training camp, and their coach says the team is working hard to make the disappointment of last year's season a distant memory.
Last year, many expected the professional soccer team to take it all at the Major League Soccer Cup, but the team fizzled out and didn't qualify for the playoffs.
Welsh-born head coach Carl Robinson said though it's good to be back home, the team has a lot of work to do at the 11-day training camp.
"Everytime I step foot in the country, it puts a smile on my face. But I'm on a working holiday," he told CBC's The Early Edition.
"We try and change training all the time ... They're used to the warm weather in Arizona playing against Major League Soccer teams and I wanted to freshen it up and give them a new challenge."
He said he hopes the experience will lead to a better season.
"We didn't reach our goals last year which was the playoffs. Even in the Amway Canadian championships which we threw away in the last few seconds of the game," he said.
"If it doesn't go your way, you've got to get back to the drawing board. [You need] lots of hard work, a little bit of honesty, and you reset your goals again."
The Whitecaps will kick off their 2017 MLS season on Mar. 5.
With files from The Early Edition
To listen to the interview, click on the link labelled Carl Robinson on the Whitecaps upcoming season