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On Monday, Feb. 5, the New England Revolution began preseason training at ForeKicks, an indoor soccer facility in Norfolk Mass., a mere two miles down the road from the team’s home turf at Gillette Stadium.

While the off-season served as a time for rest and regeneration for veteran players, the new Revs rookies spent that time waiting anxiously for the MLS drafts, hoping for a place on a top-flight professional team.

Wells Thompson and Ameachi Igwe, the Revs’ first two draft picks, signed their first professional contracts with MLS to play for the Revolution and are ready to get to work.

Thompson, a Wake Forest product picked fifth overall in the MLS SuperDraft, is excited to be in New England, despite the frigid January weather that has enveloped the region.

"I couldn’t be happier," Thompson said. "I definitely didn’t expect to get drafted so high."

A Winston-Salem N.C. native, Thompson made his only previous visit to the area for a Boston College-Wake Forest game two years ago during which Demon Deacons, in addition to participating in its own match, also attended a Revs game at Gillette Stadium.

"The area is definitely different coming from the south," Thompson said. "Wake Forest is in Winston-Salem where I grew up, so I’ve actually lived there my whole life."

The 23-year-old is getting acclimated with the rest of his teammates and is working toward a chance to play and contribute to the team. Thompson is also anxiously looking to use his time off the field to get involved in the community and contribute any way he can. 

Another rookie, Amaechi Igwe, the Revs’ second 2007 SuperDraft pick, taken12th overall in the first round, joins the team after just one year at Santa Clara and time with the U.S. Under-20 National Team. .

The 18-year-old midfielder/defender wasn’t totally aware he was on the Revs’ radar during the months leading up to the draft. Though he originally felt his selection by the Revs was unexpected, he is looking forward to his first professional season under head coach Steve Nicol and his assistants Paul Mariner and Gwynne Williams.

"I knew (the Revs) were looking for left footers," Igwe said. "Coach can really develop players at a young age and brings them along really well. I’m looking forward to learning from them."

In addition to getting to know the coaches, Igwe and his fellow rookies have been getting familiar with one other and the rest of the team, and he admits it’s been easier than he expected so far. 

Having been in the area since Saturday, the Belmont, Calif., native is still getting used to the New England cold, something to which both he and Thompson - and the Revs’ third newly-signed rookie Ryan Solle - are adjusting. Off the field, as a member of MLS’ Generation adidas class of 2007, Igwe plans to take some more college courses and continue with his education, while also getting to know the city and spending time with visiting family.

While the rookies are adjusting to life in New England, longtime Revs veterans Jay Heaps and Steve Ralston are gearing up for yet another season.

After returning from MLS Cup last November, Heaps kept busy, visiting his alma mater Duke in early December to see some basketball games and work with some Blue Devil student-athletes through a program called Emerging Leaders.  In addition, over the holiday season he and his wife Danielle welcomed their second child - and their first daughter -Olivia. However, now that preseason has started, Heaps is excited and ready to get back into gear.

"Every year I’m always amazed at how excited I get for preseason," Heaps said. "Steve (Nicol) and Paul (Mariner) do a great job of building toward the season. As a player, you like coaches who have played and been through it. They don’t go out there and just kill you right away, they build it up."

Now, in his seventh year with the Revs - and10th in MLS - Heaps has set some serious goals for both himself and the team. Going after MLS Cup for a third year in a row, taking home the Supporters Shield and a third-straight Eastern Conference crown are all in his sights.

Looking back on his own career start, he offers a few words of advice for the incoming players like Thompson, Igwe and Solle: "Enjoy it!"

Heaps added: "It’s tough because you’re wide-eyed and you can get caught up in the pressure of the game. When I was a rookie I was so geared up and I wish I could have stepped back and enjoyed it a little more. It’s a fun time in your life. Preseason is a good time to get to know the guys."

Ralston has also been keeping busy over the off-season, visiting family in St. Louis and North Carolina, as well as awaiting the arrival of his third child with wife Rachel.

An MLS "Original" - one of the league’s remaining players who joined in the inaugural season of 1996 - Ralston is starting his sixth year with the Revs and12th overall in the league. Despite his vast experience, Ralston is still anxious to get back to work. He, like Heaps, wants to win the championship this year, especially after coming so close in each of the past two seasons.

With experienced players such as Heaps and Ralston on the team, the Revolution rookies can be thankful they have such skilled and knowledgeable teammates to guide them through their first professional season.

Ralston, too, had some words of advice for the new guys on the team: "Work hard. Listen to the other guys and the coaches … and be prepared for some rookie initiations."

Ominous words, indeed, for Thompson, Igwe, Solle and company.