In the midst of their first weeks of training, Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez and captain Aubrey Kingsbury sat down with the media on Tuesday afternoon to answer questions about offseason, preseason, and the upcoming year. Here are some of the biggest news items from the day.

Possibility of more signings

“The roster right now is not closed. We are negotiating with different players to increase the level of the team,” Giráldez said, adding that “We need to increase the level at all positions.”

He agreed that center back is a position at which there is a “gap” — only two players on the team played there regularly last season — and said the team wants to improve in this area in particular, though he didn’t offer specifics about whether this would come through a new signing or a position conversion.

However, it remains unclear how any new players will fit into Washington’s roster. They already have 27 players signed, and though five are marked as being on the season-ending injury list, they are pushing up against the 26-active-player maximum.

Injury updates

Giráldez wasn’t making any promises when it came to the five Spirit players currently on SEI. Still, he had some positive news to share about some of the players who struggled with injury last year.

The head coach said that midfielder Croix Bethune, who suffered a knee injury in September, is improving and feeling better. She is not yet training with the team (although she is at preseason doing her own training), but Giráldez said she should be ready to join them in the next few weeks.

The team is also easing Trinity Rodman back into things. Rodman has struggled with back injuries throughout her career and missed multiple games toward the end of last season when they became more acute. Giráldez said she has begun doing some training with the team but that the team is being patient with her to ease her recovery.

Ouleye Sarr is also feeling better and training, according to Giráldez. He said he did not want to add pressure to her recovery but indicated that she could be back to health by the time the season starts, especially given the length of preseason.

Finally, goalkeeper Lyza Jessee is still recovering from a wrist injury and only partially training with the goalkeeping group.

Stability a positive in preseason

As preseason starts up, Kingsbury said that she and her teammates are focused on “the excitement of coming back to a solid foundation,” noting that it was “the first year we’ve made just a few roster moves instead of a lot.”

Though the Spirit touted their large (and hugely talented) rookie class last year, Kingsbury said there are some benefits to having a smaller number of newbies on the roster.

“It definitely makes it easier in the sense that everyone knows the Spirit identity and there are less people to kind of catch up to speed,” she said. “We’re learning a lot faster and able to incorporate higher level things rather than sticking to the basics.”

We’re just getting started. I think that with Michele [Kang]’s leadership, Mark [Krikorian], and Jona [Giráldez], we’re building something stable.”

For his part, Giráldez said he doesn’t like to focus on particular goals or trophies: “the goal is trying to do their best every day…. be a better player than the day before.”

He is hoping to implement some improvements in the team’s performance, particularly when out-of-possession. Giráldez said he hopes to give his team some more tools to improve in that area of the game, as well as creating more chances and having more control in games.

At this point in preseason, improvement includes more than just what’s happening on the field for Giráldez. He talked about the importance of nutrition, managing emotions, and creating a positive culture for his players.

“Everything affects performance,” he said.