Galaxy forward Tristan Bowen takes a quick photo with Open Tryout Players who advanced to Round 2. On Sunday, the LA Galaxy concluded Day Two of the Open Tryouts at The Home Depot Center. In addition to the pressure of the Galaxy Assessors watching their every move, the players experienced almost every possible weather condition during Day Two.
The sun was out all morning for the conclusion of Round 1, but at the beginning of Round 2 the skies opened up above Field 7 at The Home Depot Center. What started as a light drizzle quickly turned to downpour with moments of hail, but the sun would return before the end.
“On day one, we looked for players that caught our eye, in particular those demonstrating elite physical condition with the speed, power and agility to compete for a roster spot, and at the players’ tactical skill, positioning and touch on the ball," said Galaxy Assessor Ralph Perez, an assistant coach with the 1990 U.S. World Cup team. Then on Day 2, we had an idea of who the best 40 or so players were and we did our best to group them together and play them against each other."After the second day of Round 1, the Open Tryouts was narrowed down from over 200 participants to nineteen deserving players, who advanced to a deciding 80-minute 11 v 11 game against the Galaxy U-18 Academy team.
Here is a shot of the two starting lineups from the Galaxy U-18s and Open Tryout players.
The 11 v 11 format in Round 2 provided the players with the opportunity to play closer to their true positions than the 7 v7 format.
In addition, there was a special visit from Galaxy Forward Tristan Bowen, who was originally discovered through the very first Open Tryouts, as he met and shook hands with a few of the hopefuls. For the complete story on his Open Tryout experience click here.
Now, the Galaxy Assessors will review their notes on Round 2 and make a final decision on the 2010 Open Tryout participants. Check back here for more information.
No comments:
Post a Comment