Players bond during training away from South Florida

PORT SAINT LUCIE — Fans don’t need to worry about Inter Miami CF potentially getting distracted by the Super Bowl festivities that have taken over South Florida.

While the rest of the area prepares for the NFL’s big game, the club has spent its past week nearly 100 miles north of Hard Rock Stadium training in Port St. Lucie.

The drastic change of scenery not only keeps the team away from the ruckus in Miami-Dade County, but the solitude in Port St. Lucie — where Inter Miami will train until Friday — has given players the opportunity to develop bonds with one another outside of their two-a-day practices.

Multiple players said the club traveling throughout training camp has been helpful for them, especially as an expansion team looking to make its mark in MLS.

“It’s very important,” defender Mikey Ambrose said. “We only have a couple of months to get ready for a really long season, and we’re playing teams that have been together for years. It’s very important for us to get away, get together, get to know everybody as quickly as possible both on the field and off the field. Hopefully, from there we’ll have a successful year.”

After concluding training on Friday, Inter Miami will head west to Bradenton for practices from Feb. 1-6 before moving to its own complex in Fort Lauderdale for the first time from Feb. 7-14. The club has closed-door scrimmages scheduled against the Charleston Battery on Feb. 7, and against New York City FC on Feb. 12 before heading back west to Saint Petersburg for training from Feb. 15-23. Inter Miami will wrap up training camp at its facility during February’s final week.

The team begins the regular season March 1 at Los Angeles FC. The home opener and coming-out party for the new Lockhart Stadium site in Fort Lauderdale, where the club plans to play for at least two seasons before moving into its Miami stadium, is March 14 against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

“As you spend more and more time with your teammates off the field, it just helps with bonding and translates to the chemistry on the field,” said defender Dylan Nealis, who Inter Miami selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.

Although somewhat secluded, the team doesn’t have a shortage of things to do when not practicing — or taking post-practice naps after tough sessions as some players noted. There are tennis courts, a golf course, a private beach and many other amenities at the resort where the team is staying.

But the team’s go-to activity has been multiple rounds of card games, which allows for the player’s competitive spirits to be shown off the pitch.

“The intensity on the field kind of translates off the field and in the card games as well,” Nealis said. “It can get intense. The real character really comes out in some of the games. It’s just nice to see where everyone comes from. Some guys have been in the league and they’re sharing their stories, and I’m just all ears, listening and taking everything in.”

Venezuelan defender Christian Makoun, 19, who began practicing this week after joining Inter Miami on Tuesday, said he already sees the team as “very united”. Ambrose, who’s also played for Atlanta United FC and Orlando SC, said the biggest thing he’s learned about Inter Miami so far is how much of a family they aspire to be.

“I’ve been with previous clubs where it’s been pure business and not very much about relationships,” Ambrose said. “It’s awesome how they want to come together as a family. We’ve already had dinner with the owner and how close everybody wants to be and how close the organization is trying to be.”