While Detroit City FC’s 2022 season came to an end last Saturday night, work in the American Home Fitness Gym has not stopped for Detroit City FC’s Head of Physical Performance Sam Joyce and the players as they prepare for the offseason heading into the 2023 calendar year.
Whether it’s guys who are coming back or guys who are pursuing new opportunities in the world of football, Joyce and the Detroit City FC Technical Staff are sending them into the offseason in good shape thanks to the American Home Fitness Gym.
Starting the Offseason
“Everyone does an exit physical just to make sure they’re leaving healthy as well as to square off the season,” said Joyce when going into detail about what the offseason looks like from his perspective.
Staying fit is one thing but one of the most important parts of an offseason according to Joyce is ensuring the players get a healthy amount of rest both mentally and physically.
“In terms of an off-season program we encourage everyone to actually rest first, the first couple of weeks we have them switch off from soccer mentally and physically and get a crucial period of rest in and then there will be a program that builds up slowly from the end of that rest period to the first day of pre-season,” said Joyce.
Growth Over the Season
Thanks to the American Home Fitness Gym, the Detroit City FC squad came a long way in limiting their non-contact injuries over the course of the season.
“Towards the end of the season our number of non-contact injuries declined and that’s nice to see. It’s basically a reward for the guys for all of their hard work in the gym over the course of the season,” said Joyce.
While non-contact injuries were down, due to the strength foundation that Joyce has spoken about in recent months, some of the younger guys on the team were able to bulk up a bit in the gym.
“Guys had certain targets, some wanted to get a little heavier and bigger. For example the two young guys, Dom [Gasso] and Bosh [Tanyi], it’s important for those guys to get accustomed to training with and playing with men,” said Joyce.
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Each month Detroit City FC and American Home Fitness will give a look inside the DCFC Players Gym, giving recommendations for exercises and how-to’s from the pros and staff.
Sam Joyce joined Detroit City FC as the Club’s first-ever Head of Physical Performance ahead of the 2022 campaign. Joyce comes to Detroit after spending the past three seasons with Indy Eleven in the same role. Prior to his time in Indy, Joyce was on staff with Nottingham Forest FC from 2012-2019 – serving as the lead strength and conditioning coach for the U9-16s before taking over for the U18s in 2016. He first joined Nottingham as an intern before being brought on full-time in 2014.
