RICHMOND, VA – (Wednesday, October 26, 2016) – The Richmond Kickers, the official USL affiliate of D.C. United, are pleased to host open tryouts January 27-29, 2017 and March 10-12, 2017. A select number of players will be invited to participate in three days of intense training and scrimmages in front of technical staff at the Kickers state-of-the-art training facility Ukrop Park in Richmond, Virginia. Eligible college seniors, qualified free agents and talented amateur players that are seeking a professional contract are encouraged to register now at www.richmondkickers.com.
Attendance at the player combine is one of the best ways to ensure that a player’s complete soccer resume and professional evaluation is in front of key decision makers for the Richmond Kickers. Training sessions will take place in front of professional coaching staff, led by Kickers Director of Soccer, Leigh Cowlishaw, who will be joined by an array of experienced technical staff and former professional players.
Kickers Pro Tryouts discovered standout defender Braeden Troyer, who has made 61 appearances over two seasons and Japanese midfielder Yudai Imura, while past trials have also produced such prominent players as 2016 USL Defender of the Year Finalist and All-League First Team Defender Hugh Roberts, 2013 USL Rookie of the Year Nate Robinson, Clyde Simms (New England Revolution, D.C. United and U.S. Men’s National Team), Ronnie Pascale (Three-time USL Goalkeeper of the Year), Tim Brown (New Zealand National Team) and Robert Ssejjemba (2006 USL MVP and Ugandan National Team).
“The tryouts are run professionally from the beginning to the end and allow players to compete at a high level in front of the coaching staff,” commented Troyer. “I could not have asked for a better place to start to my pro soccer career than the Richmond Kickers.”
Over the past two decades, 36 D.C. United players have played with the Richmond Kickers, with the roster of players including 2011 Major League Soccer MVP Dwayne De Rosario, Mike Burke, Jeff Causey, Ben Crawley, Brian Kamler, Mike McGinty, Mark Simpson, Clyde Simms, Robert Ssejjemba and Richie Williams. Players who have featured with the Kickers on loan include Miguel Aguilar, Steven Birnbaum, Brian Carroll, Alex Caskey, Julian Buescher, Andrew Dykstra, John DiRaimondo, Christiano Francois, Charlie Horton, Jared Jeffrey, Taylor Kemp, Justin Mapp, Collin Martin, Andy Metcalf, Luke Mishu, Bryan Namoff, Anthony Peters, Kyle Porter, Jalen Robinson, Michael Seaton, Conor Shanosky, Long Tan, Casey Townsend, Ethan White, Joe Willis and Travis Worra. In franchise history, 22 players have progressed from the Richmond Kickers into Major League Soccer.
Interested players should submit an application and $150 registration fee by January 20 or March 3. Space is limited and applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis. Registration fees are non-refundable. Application fees increase to $195 after the registration deadline. Attendance at all sessions is required.
