The journey plan for Kansas soccer

The Los Angeles Rams bought it fallacious, the San Francisco 49ers bought it proper and the Kansas Jayhawks are aiming for someplace proper in between the 2.

Overseas journey has been a sizzling matter within the soccer world early within the season, largely due to the Rams-49ers season opener in Australia, the place San Francisco spent a full week earlier than enjoying and the Rams flew within the day earlier than the sport. 

The 49ers drubbed the Rams within the sport, profitable 27-7, and seemed decidedly sharper and brisker within the course of. 

So, this week, when the 1-1 Jayhawks journey to London to tackle Arizona State (1-1) within the Big 12 opener for each groups, no less than a number of the discuss has been on the groups’ journey plans. 

ASU made the journey to London on Saturday, leaving after their street loss at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. 

KU left Tuesday afternoon and, due to the time change, will land someday Wednesday morning in London, giving Lance Leipold’s workforce three full days and greater than half of a fourth earlier than kickoff. 

The Sun Devils will get a pair extra days in London to shake off the journey and get acclimated to the local weather, the atmosphere and their new environment. But KU has been learning this factor for some time to decipher the most effective methods for the Jayhawks to deal with it, as nicely. 

To that finish, KU’s workers created an app for the gamers that helps remind and educate them on the entire issues they need to be doing earlier than, throughout and after the journey. From every little thing to fundamental physique actions and the psychological facet of issues to when to sleep and extra. 

“We’ve had discussions with people who study this international travel, whether it be one way or the other, and all those different things,” Leipold mentioned Monday. “We’ve kind of got guidelines of when to sleep when we get there, staying up and doing those things because it can mess with your body clock. We talked to multiple people; some say go really early (in the week). Our opponent went really early. Some say go really late, and it’s kind of a mixed bag of really of the results and where it’s at.

Beyond that, the KU players and coaches both said they felt good about the schedule for this week in large part because they did their two heaviest days of prep on Sunday and Monday. 

“The way we do our days, our hardest day is today (Monday),” KU security Corey Gordon mentioned. “So, being able to get the hardest day out the way first and then going to London and being able to tighten up some things, watch the film, get everything right, we can still make it a normal game week.” 

Added middle Kasen Carpenter: “They’ve done a great job prepping us, talking to us early on about how this is gonna look. We’re getting our big work done here, a lot of our physical work done here, which is great. I love that. And once we get over there, it’s going to continue to be a lot of mental things, walk-throughs, installs, we’re going to continue working on that. But, for the most part, it’s just an away game.” 

Technically, it’s a house sport, however the Jayhawks had seven on the schedule this season and the truth that they’re in the midst of development made this nearly as good a yr as any to surrender one in every of their dwelling dates for an abroad alternative. 

The further day of prep for the Jayhawks, which got here due to KU’s Friday sport final week, additionally added somewhat respiratory room to the journey, one thing that ASU coach Kenny Dillingham famous as a little bit of a bonus for KU on this case. 

“You don’t expect the scheduling to be different when you schedule a game like this, but at the end of the day it is what it is,” Dillingham mentioned from London on Tuesday, based on a number of studies. “There are no excuses, you either get it done or you don’t get it done.”

He even went so far as to name the schedule alignment side of it “kind of an unwritten rule” and one thing that’s “just kind of understood.” 

Both coaches perceive that it is a cool expertise for his or her gamers and an opportunity to realize somewhat further publicity for his or her program. So, there does appear to be real appreciation and pleasure for the chance. 

But irrespective of which facet you’re speaking about, Leipold summed it up finest when speaking in regards to the backside line of what the journey will imply for these specific groups. 

“It’s still going to be a little bit (about) how your team plays,” he mentioned. “But responding and going through it and acclimating are definitely things that we’ve talked about and (we) want to do the same thing coming back.”

Upon arriving and getting settled on Wednesday, KU deliberate to have a fast shake-it-off follow to fight the impacts of the lengthy flight. After that, there’s one other follow, extra movie and a sightseeing journey deliberate for Thursday, adopted by their common Fast Friday follow the day earlier than the sport.

With kickoff in London arriving at 5 p.m. Saturday (11 a.m. central time within the U.S.), there will be time for extra movie, conferences and their common gameday routine on Saturday, as nicely.

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