Another day of Valour FC training is in the rear-view mirror and as Raphael Ohin exits the pitch a broad grin breaks across his face.

Sure, progress can be a difficult thing to measure a couple weeks into camp, but it could be said no one offers a better sense of perspective on the subject than the veteran midfielder and the franchise’s longest-serving player.

And that’s where Ohin’s current sense of optimism is based.

“It’s been good so far, very good,” Ohin told valourfootball.club. “This is the first time in the last seven seasons where we’re bringing more than half the team back and having pieces remain rather than having almost a whole new team again. The chemistry is still there, and you can tell even though it’s only been two weeks of preseason. The new players that have come in have adapted really quickly.

“We’ve added some guys with CPL experience who know what the league is about and the competitiveness of the games. Having players like that in our locker room is only going to make us better.”

Ohin and the rest of Valour’s contingent left for Vancouver after practice on Tuesday for six days and three preseason matches against Whitecaps 2, Vancouver FC and Altitude FC of League1 B.C. They’ll then return to Winnipeg for another week or so before one more preseason jaunt — this time to Toronto — before opening the Canadian Premier League season in Victoria against Pacific FC on April 5th.

No doubt there is a similar bright-eyed optimism all across the CPL at this stage of the offseason but it’s especially important here with Valour FC as it seeks to secure the first playoff berth in franchise history. Adding veteran players like Kris Twardek and Zach Fernandez to the existing roster — plus, some talented new faces — have boosted confidence in a club that started last season with a horrific start but finished with a solid run that had them pushing the league’s elite.

“One thing about this group I already like is the passion,” said Ohin, who served as team captain last season. “You see everyone in the locker room and how much this club means to them. And if you have a good group of guys that think and act the same way towards one goal, that’s a good thing. That’s powerful.”

A year ago, Valour spent a good chunk of preseason in Portugal before starting with seven straight league matches on the road as new turf was installed at Princess Auto Stadium. This year the club will open with two on the road — with two weeks in between for further training — before playing three of their next four, including a Canadian Championship match, at home.

That could be massive in the quest to be playing meaningful football in October.

“The playoffs, that’s the main goal,” said Ohin. “But it’s also about winning games and forget about everything else right now. The playoffs are the main objective but to get there we simply have to win and win often.”

The Vancouver trip is part of that plan. Playing against CPL competition — and top League1 teams in B.C. and Ontario — outdoors in Canada could be massive in being ready for the opener.

“I like the energy of the guys. That’s been really good,” said Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos when asked to assess the first couple weeks of training. “Everyone is finding that extra gear and the fact we’re able to push the guys and get our level of competitiveness and increase the fitness levels without seeing anyone having a step back has been important for us. We’re pushing them but also managing the load well.

“In Vancouver it will be important to start seeing how the players are simulating the little ideas and the principles we want to see in the team, to see who understands and who is aware in their levels of understanding and execution. We also want to also start creating these interactions and connections on the field.”

These next two trips will also tell Dos Santos and his staff a great deal not only about who will round out the starting XI, but which players work well together.

“That’s a constant all the time,” he said. “Sometimes we finish a training session, or after two-three days of work, and we say, ‘OK, if the season was to start tomorrow, what does it look like?’ We then do that exercise a bit later to see how players are progressing and coping with the different elements we’re introducing into the game. That’s a continuous evaluation.

“Ultimately, for me it also comes down to the spirit in which the players come in to do their work every day. We’re not expecting that everything is going to be perfect, but we want to see growth on a daily basis. Then the evidence is on the pitch. That’s the reality. So, playing games is going to be important.”