FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The dream of an MLS career drew one step closer for 35 players on Wednesday night.
Local college players, foreign-based hopefuls, and other assorted dreamers gathered at an invitation-only tryout at the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse at Gillette Stadium to see if they had what it takes to earn a deal with the New England Revolution.
College coaches, agents, and other interested parties lined the sides of the training facility as the invitees, gathered from as far away as Italy, Jamaica, and Brazil, sought to impress head coach Steve Nicol and the New England coaching staff.
But those players didn't just arrive at the facility by chance.
Resumes flow in throughout the year, explained Mike Burns, the Revoution's director of soccer. 600 or so people sent resumes to the Revs since the last tryout, and somewhere between a half and a third of those arrived in the past two weeks.
"Our coaches go through the stack," Burns said. "They look at every single one. We invite 30-40 players in for a tryout every year. We like to include the local seniors as well."
And how do the coaches weed out the players who get the chosen spots?
"We try and wiggle the best resumes out of the crowd," Nicol said.
Burns said it's not "a perfect process," but he said the coaching staff does the best job it can to pare the group down to a manageable number.
The best resumes earn an invite to the proceedings. The players are put through their paces, including passing drills and full-sided games as the coaching staff surveys the talent on order.
"We're looking for someone who can pass it," Nicol said. "We're looking for someone who can do it under pressure. We're looking for someone who can play."
Talent flashed on and off all night. There was a nice goal here and a jinking run there as players attempted to distinguish themselves.
While the players attempted to display their wares, the coaching staff tried to figure out whether any of these players should earn an invitation to training camp or should merit a selection in Thursday's supplemental draft. That came through in the second round of the draft when local tryout invitee Chris Tierney from Wellesley, Mass. and the University of Virginia was selected by the Revolution in the second round.
"We don't go into this tryout with a preconceived idea of what to expect," Nicol said. "We go in with an open mind. If we see 10 players we like, then great. If we get something else out of it, that's great too."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
