“It was really awesome,” said tournament organizer, Tyler Christiansen.  “It went better than we expected.  It was a great display of soccer and we completed the objective of raising funds for the team.”

The BYU men’s soccer team hoped to create excitement about the upcoming fall season as well as raise $1,000 to cover equipment and operation costs for the fall roster.

Seventy people made up 15 teams of 4v4 in a round-robin tourney.  Each team paid $60 to participate and played in four games followed by a knockout playoff. The games were played in the parking lot of the Indoor Practice Facility featuring duck taped boundary lines and aluminum trash cans for goals.  It began at 9 a.m. and ended at 12:30 p.m.  Calle provided shirts, bracelets, and keychains for the event.

Junior forward, Blake Tillotson and Cory Cosgrave’s team defended their 2009 championship with an overtime victory against freshman, Ethan Meyer’s squad.

“Winning the tournament is always fun but it’s nice to have bragging rights over the other guys on the team,” said Tillotson.  “It’s about going out there and having fun.  There’s a lot of good players out there.”

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“We return a lot of players who have some sort of affiliation to the team whether it was before their mission on a fall team or before their mission on the real team,” said head coach, Chris Watkins.  “It will be competitive.  It will probably be the most competitive tryout we’ve had based on how many people feel like they have a chance of making the team.

“We will only have 21 players at practice the following Monday (March 1).  That’s a pretty significant change.  Typically we’ve had about 24, 25 at that point.  All the returned missionaries will fit into those 21 roster spots.  I’m not happy about having to do this but I think it’s the best thing for our program.”

Tryout Schedule

Thursday, Feb. 25
6-9 a.m. (Indoor Practice Facility)
4-6 p.m. (Richards Building Turf)

Friday, Feb. 26
6-9 a.m. (Indoor Practice Facility)
4-6 p.m. (Richards Building Turf)

Saturday, Feb. 27
4-6 p.m. (Richards Building Turf)
10 p.m.-12 a.m. (Indoor Practice Facility)

Eligibility

Tryouts are open to interested BYU students and potential incoming freshmen for the Fall of 2010. All incoming freshmen must have a completed application turned in. However they do not have to be accepted at the time of the tryout. All players on the BYU soccer team are full-time, continuing students (12 credits per semester) at the university.

Tryout

The tryout begins on Thursday, February 25th at 6 a.m. in the Indoor Practice Facility. Tryouts will conclude Saturday night. Practice for the team will begin the following week. The team will train on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 6:30-8:50 a.m. (weight training included), and Saturdays from 5-8 p.m. Incoming freshmen who make the team will join the team immediately following their high school graduation.

The tryout will consist primarily of controlled (e.g., 1 touch) scrimmaging and fitness tests, including the beep test and cooper (2 mile) test.

Documentation

All players must fill out a proof of insurance form and provide an official BYU transcript (if a current student) and pay the $30 tryout fee prior to the tryout. This can only be done in person at room 112 of the Richards Building. After submitting these forms and paying the fee you will be given a tryout number to be worn during the tryout. This office is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Athletes will need to register prior to the tryout date.

Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Chris Watkins
Head Coach, Soccer
Brigham Young University
206 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT, 84602
cwatkins@byu.edu

Chris Watkins and the BYU coaching staff expect a competitive tryout, starting Thursday February 25.

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