The last time Orlando City had a week to focus on nothing but training was more than a month ago.

Having that time for players and coaches to hone in on small details, skills and technique instead of worrying about preparing for a specific opponent can be beneficial, especially for a team that hasn’t played its best recently, according to Lions coach Jason Kreis.

“The truth of the matter is that we haven’t had the time to train for a very long time now. So, I think kind of as we’ve gone through some things, [we’ve] forgotten about what those small things were that led to successes. You just have to go back to the last time when we had matches in a regular fashion, once a week, and say, ‘Yea, we were doing pretty well then.’

“Then we started all these matches in a row, and I think we’ve struggled. A lot of that has to do with that we haven’t been able to continue to train the guys on these are the things we need to be doing if we want to win. So, we look at this window as an opportunity to get back to those things.”

Striker Cyle Larin said for him, that means working on his fitness level and movement up top. There’s been a lot of talk from the club’s front office and coaching staffs about the need to bring in more attacking players and score more goals. For the team’s leading scorer, that’s motivation.

“It motivates me to train harder,” Larin said, adding he’s specifically working on improving his fitness and movement up top. “We need more people in the box to occupy players, and hopefully I get open that way. I know when I’m in the box a lot of people cover me, so just more players in the box and more people forward.

“Feels good working on a couple things we need to work on before the Atlanta game.”

Orlando City returns to MLS play July 21, when Atlanta United FC visits. Most of the schedule through the end of the year features weekly matches or even more time between competition.

There is one stretch, though, beginning with a road match to Portland Sept. 24, where the Lions play three games in seven days. So, Kreis and the team still need to figure out how to keep working on those “little things” and finding a way to win even when games come in rapid succession.

Ruckus raises money

Orlando City supporter group The Ruckus raised $6,000 for the Zebra Coalition last week, presenting a check to the organization before Orlando City’s match against Toronto FC on July 5.

The event held to raise the money wasn’t a typical charity fundraiser, however, it was a “secret event." The details weren’t revealed to attendees until hours before.

Ruckus president Jerry Updike said he does a lot of volunteer work involving gifted education and often works with Zebra Coalition, a network of organizations that provides services to LGBTQ youth and all youth in Central Florida.

"This was our first time flirting with event-style fundraising, so we set up a secret event at a local business,” Updike said, noting his wife, Ginger, headed up the event. “We limited the ticket sales to first 125 members. Those who purchased knew nothing about the event other than that they were required to wear black and white cocktail attire. At midnight the night before, they received the details...that they were attending Ruckus Casino Royale. Through tickets, event sales and other donations, we were able to raise $6,000 for Zebra Coalition in a three-week period.”

Next year, Updike said they hope to double that number by growing the event and opening it to the public.

ardelgallo@orlandosentinel.com