Dothan United hits the pitch for the first time as a team ahead of the season

DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — With aspirations to play fast, intense, and compete for championships right from the start, the Dothan United Soccer Club wasted no time in getting to work. Led by Coach Carl Reynolds, the Dragons took the field at Rip Hewes Stadium for their inaugural practice on Wednesday night.

While the team displayed promising signs, building chemistry among players will be crucial in the coming weeks as they familiarize themselves with each other’s personalities and playing styles. Despite the early stages, players expressed optimism about the team’s potential.

Dothan United Dragons embark on team-building journey ahead of inaugural season

“I think it was really good,” said Dragons left-back Reece Harrison. “You know, a lot of quality players coming in from all over the world. Everyone wants to play. So the standard was really high and you could see everyone was given 100%. And I feel like it was a perfect start and it’s only gonna get better from here.”

“I think the energy was great from the start. Everybody’s really excited to be here and now we’re just looking forward to keeping at it these next few days,” said Midfielder Alec Palanjian. “Everybody wants to fight for a championship this season, so we’re gonna do everything we can to make that happen.”

“First thing I did when I came here was come to the pitch and I mean, can’t really ask for much more beautiful stadium, beautiful field,” Forward Alexander Blanche said. “I can tell it’s a real community here. Everybody’s bought into this. The owners have been perfect. And yeah, I mean it’s great to be here. Dothan is a real community, real family, really.”

With just a few weeks of practice before the regular season kicks off, coach Reynolds emphasized the importance of instilling the team’s philosophy.

“I wanna see our team, our principles. I want us to be brave. Our biggest philosophy is we want the ball,” Reynolds said. “So we don’t want fans in the stands to watch us chasing the ball. We want the ball and we want them to enjoy watching us and we want to be aggressive and attack and be front foot minded. And if I can see that I’ll be more than happy and I’ve got no doubt after tonight and knowing the boys and knowing the staff, that’s what we’ll get.”

In a quick turnaround, the team faces a friendly scrimmage this Saturday with Southern States FC from Hattiesburg, where Coach Reynolds previously coached.

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