Springtime in the South has its pluses and minuses … sure, the green grass is a nice touch, but it takes rain in order for those vibrant colors to come to the forefront. Trust us, we took science freshman year in high school (and passed it, thank you very much), so we know what we’re talking about.

Which brings us to today, which has been full of rain, rain, and more rain (and gnats, gnats, and much more gnats) … but that didn’t stop Real Salt Lake from hitting the practice field this morning as its gears up for its first Carolina Challenge Cup contest in two days’ time. For some notes and photos from training, take the jump (over the puddles) …

Charleston Training Camp News & Notes – Day #7

• The Claret-and-Cobalt had a change of scenery for today’s session, moving across the bay to Charleston proper to train on the grounds of The Citadel, home of the Bulldogs and lots of students in military garb … which makes sense, it being a military institution and all. Kind of a surreal setting to practice in (for instance, the revelry-type horn sounding at the top of the 11 o’clock hour), but a field is a field and the guys seemed to soak it all in just fine.
• Part of the rainy day blues came with the news of the departure of Tino Nunez, who was waived by the squad officially today after two years of service with the Claret-and-Cobalt. We’ll miss Tino’s friendly nature and dedication towards making his professional dreams come true, and hope to hear news of him landing elsewhere very soon.
• Also announced today was the news that Alex Nimo will serve another season-long loan stint with the Portland Timbers, beginning pretty much immediately, as Alex is traveling with the Timbers to take part in their exhibition match tonight against Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field. We again wish Alex nothing but the best with his hometown squad and look forward to monitoring his progress as the season rolls on.
• Forecast in “Chucktown” for tomorrow, which includes a single morning practice for the squad: Cloudy and 68 degrees.