{"id":11436,"date":"2026-04-24T07:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-new-mexico-united-players-spent-their-bye-week-albuquerque-journal\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T07:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:11:49","slug":"how-new-mexico-united-players-spent-their-bye-week-albuquerque-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-new-mexico-united-players-spent-their-bye-week-albuquerque-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"How New Mexico United players spent their bye week – Albuquerque Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW MEXICO UNITED
Players spent time doing variety of different activities during break
Dennis Sanchez was three words in when the shout came from the back of the room. 
OK. It was more of an imploration. Well, more than one. 
\u201cBe honest,\u201d a New Mexico United assistant called out.
Hey, even managers need to be held accountable. Especially when it comes to how truthful to be about whether Sanchez followed the advice given to players or continued to log hours and film during some scheduled off time at the end of last week\u2019s bye.
\u201cI don\u2019t know if balance is achievable, but there is a level of kind of stepping away and seeing things in a clearer sense,\u201d Sanchez said with a smirk on Thursday. \u201cI think I\u2019m a very reflective person by nature, but (you) try to find the balance of making sure that we\u2019re moving in the right direction, but also taking advantage of the time (away).\u201d
It appeared needed after getting routed 3-0 at Phoenix Rising FC on April 11.
So after a full week of practice, including a Friday Sanchez said was more grueling than usual, United made last weekend free of soccer obligations for the players. A chance to relax and recharge for a couple of days. More importantly, it offered the possibility to reset.
\u201cIt was good,\u201d forward Greg Hurst said ahead of Saturday\u2019s USL Cup match against AV Alta FC. \u201cThere is a lot of pressure every day. You try to compete to keep your spot (within) the team and obviously, you\u2019re competing and you\u2019re under pressure during games, so mentally, it does take its toll, especially when we have not had the start we wanted. 
\u201cSo to get a couple days away and kind of get away from the pitch sometimes helps you just decompress \u2026 and come back with a fresh mindset to start picking up and going again.\u201d
The start of the season has been frustrating. 
United is tied for second-to-last in the USL in goals scored (5), ahead of only Monterey Bay FC (3). It is tied for 12th in goals conceded (8). That doesn\u2019t take into account the club\u2019s pair of U.S. Open Cup matches \u2014 a 3-2 win over Cruizers FC and a 4-0 loss to El Paso Locomotive FC.
So, how did United decide to spend its downtime in an effort for that fresh mindset? A variety of non-soccer ways.
Some players opted to chill by their apartments\u2019 pool for some water time. (And more sun?) Others headed to the driving range to get in some golf shots. 
A few took advantage of the extended opportunities for rehab and treatment.
\u201cPersonally, it\u2019s been nice because I\u2019ve been out,\u201d midfielder Gedion Zelalem said. \u201cSo it\u2019s given me time to kind of get back into training and hopefully get minutes this weekend.\u201d
And when all that was done or before venturing out, the players even kicked back and put on some TV \u2014 or telly as those from the United Kingdom refer to it \u2014 for some must-see viewing. 
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of Champions League games on and Premier League games, and me and Geds have watched a few of them together with some (of the) other boys,\u201d said Hurst, who hails from Scotland. \u201cYou want to watch high-level games to see what you can take from that. I think some of the best learning comes from watching the best to do it, see what their ideas are and what they\u2019re trying to do and how they implement the basics. It\u2019s the basics that are the standpoint for them. 
\u201cWatching a lot of football, I think, helps with your development of the game. That\u2019s one thing I do for sure when I\u2019ve got time off is watch as much football as possible.\u201d
So to relax from soccer, Hurst and company \u2026 watched more soccer?
\u201cIt sounds a bit counterintuitive,\u201d Hurst said with a grin. \u201cBut it\u2019s nice when it\u2019s someone else, especially when you have that little break.\u201d
And United is hoping it pays off. For Saturday and in the matches after. That\u2019s its honest evaluation.
\u201cIt gave us time to kind of break down what\u2019s been happening in the season,\u201d Zelalem said, \u201cto try to play better.\u201d
David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com<\/a> or via X @DavidGlovach<\/a>.<\/span>
Albuquerque native Cristian Nava says he’s finding joy in soccer again after early career injury woes
After injuries, former Manchester United defender seeks to kickstart career
NMED on Thursday proposed revisions to the state permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad
Steven Herrera spent four days in jail over smoking ordinance, cussing at police
UNM closes season tied for ninth place at Mountain West Women’s Golf Championship
Law enforcement agencies across New Mexico are joining the city\u2019s SAFE At Work initiative
Eck optimistic about a more traditional format for Saturday’s spring scrimmage
President Trump’s recent endorsement of GOP candidate adds intrigue to race
Gunman fired through a door striking woman with three gunshots
Players spent time doing variety of different activities during break
The creation of a public, searchable portal was mandated under a bill signed into law in 2025
State Health officials offer advice on what to do if you or your pet are exposed to the disease
Wildfire west of Sapello remains uncontained as crews work to protect structures
Veteran forward’s game-winning 3-pointer for Air Force in the Pit in 2024 was one of UNM’s worst home losses <\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW MEXICO UNITEDPlayers spent time doing variety of different activities during breakDennis Sanchez was three words in when the shout came from the back of the room. OK. It was more of an imploration. Well, more than one. \u201cBe honest,\u201d a New Mexico United assistant called out.Hey, even managers need to be held accountable. Especially when it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}