For the fourth consecutive year, Sacramento Republic FC are hosting Open Tryouts presented by Western Health Advantage. While the tryouts provide aspiring players a chance to be assessed by Republic FC technical staff and coaches, it also is an opportunity greater than just the chance to make the first team.
For the fourth consecutive year, Sacramento Republic FC are hosting Open Tryouts presented by Western Health Advantage. While the tryouts provide aspiring players a chance to be assessed by Republic FC technical staff and coaches, it also is an opportunity greater than just the chance to make the first team.
“The objective for us is multifaceted,” said Director of Football Graham Smith about the club’s open tryouts. “One aspect is to give everyone an opportunity. The second aspect is to find the diamond in the rough, which we’ve been very successful at.”
Four members of the 2016 roster were found by Republic FC through the open tryout process: Emrah Klimenta, Max Alvarez, Mackenzie Pridham and Elliott Hord.
All four have become key contributing members for Republic FC. Since joining the club during their inaugural season, Klimenta and Alvarez have been mainstays in the squad rotation. Klimenta leads the club both in all-time USL and all-competition matches started with 63 and 83, respectively, as well as in minutes with 5,647 USL minutes and 7,277 minutes all-time. All-time, Klimenta leads the club with 87 matches played and is second in consecutive appearances (33) and starts (24).
Alvarez is second in all-time assists for the club with 16, just three behind Rodrigo Lopez’s record 19. Since 2014, Alvarez has appeared in 68 matches, starting 42 and playing 3,558 minutes all-time for Republic FC.
Republic FC found two new additions for the 2016 through the tryout process. Pridham, a forward, and Hord, a defender who stepped into the role of right back after Klimenta suffered a season-ending ACL tear in July. Pridham—who appeared in 19 of Republic FC’s 30 USL matches—recorded three goals in regular season play. Across all-competition, Pridham finished fourth in points with 10 with five goals, behind Cameron Iwasa, Danny Barrera—who broke the club’s single-season goal and assist records respectively—and Harry Williams.
“The objective for us is multifaceted,” said Director of Football Graham Smith about the club’s open tryouts. “One aspect is to give everyone an opportunity. The second aspect is to find the diamond in the rough, which we’ve been very successful at.”
Four members of the 2016 roster were found by Republic FC through the open tryout process: Emrah Klimenta, Max Alvarez, Mackenzie Pridham and Elliott Hord.
All four have become key contributing members for Republic FC. Since joining the club during their inaugural season, Klimenta and Alvarez have been mainstays in the squad rotation. Klimenta leads the club both in all-time USL and all-competition matches started with 63 and 83, respectively, as well as in minutes with 5,647 USL minutes and 7,277 minutes all-time. All-time, Klimenta leads the club with 87 matches played and is second in consecutive appearances (33) and starts (24).
Alvarez is second in all-time assists for the club with 16, just three behind Rodrigo Lopez’s record 19. Since 2014, Alvarez has appeared in 68 matches, starting 42 and playing 3,558 minutes all-time for Republic FC.
Republic FC found two new additions for the 2016 through the tryout process. Pridham, a forward, and Hord, a defender who stepped into the role of right back after Klimenta suffered a season-ending ACL tear in July. Pridham—who appeared in 19 of Republic FC’s 30 USL matches—recorded three goals in regular season play. Across all-competition, Pridham finished fourth in points with 10 with five goals, behind Cameron Iwasa, Danny Barrera—who broke the club’s single-season goal and assist records respectively—and Harry Williams.
Hord took perhaps the most unique road to join the club. Within the span of just a few days, Hord—who tried out with Republic FC at an open tryout in 2014 and did not make the team—went from considering trying out again to trialing with the first team for a single session to signing a contract and finally starting in front of a sold out crowd at Bonney Field on August 27, 2016.
After signing with Republic FC on August 19, Hord appearing in six and starting in five of the club’s seven regular season matches, playing 430 minutes and recording an assist. Across all competitions, Hord started seven of his eight appearances.
“He had the drive and the tenacity to continue and keep believing in himself and it worked,” said Smith about bringing back Hord after he did not make the team in 2014. “He’s been phenomenal for us [since he joined].”
For Smith, it is the hard work and success of Republic FC players who were once trialists that show the importance of open tryouts.
“It’s a question of giving people a chance. Look at Emrah, Max and Elliott—tryouts pay off for us,” said Smith, who noted that additional players have signed with other USL clubs and Republic FC’s PDL affiliate—Ventura County Fusion—after trying out with Republic FC to gain more experience in the hopes of eventually returning to Sacramento.
In the hopes of finding new talent—Republic FC can roster up to 30 players and had just 25 non-loan players on their roster in 2016—the club is holding five different open tryout sessions on Oct. 29-30, Nov. 26-27, Dec. 17-18, 2016 and Jan. 28-29 and Feb. 25-26, 2017.
Hord took perhaps the most unique road to join the club. Within the span of just a few days, Hord—who tried out with Republic FC at an open tryout in 2014 and did not make the team—went from considering trying out again to trialing with the first team for a single session to signing a contract and finally starting in front of a sold out crowd at Bonney Field on August 27, 2016.
After signing with Republic FC on August 19, Hord appearing in six and starting in five of the club’s seven regular season matches, playing 430 minutes and recording an assist. Across all competitions, Hord started seven of his eight appearances.
“He had the drive and the tenacity to continue and keep believing in himself and it worked,” said Smith about bringing back Hord after he did not make the team in 2014. “He’s been phenomenal for us [since he joined].”
For Smith, it is the hard work and success of Republic FC players who were once trialists that show the importance of open tryouts.
“It’s a question of giving people a chance. Look at Emrah, Max and Elliott—tryouts pay off for us,” said Smith, who noted that additional players have signed with other USL clubs and Republic FC’s PDL affiliate—Ventura County Fusion—after trying out with Republic FC to gain more experience in the hopes of eventually returning to Sacramento.
In the hopes of finding new talent—Republic FC can roster up to 30 players and had just 25 non-loan players on their roster in 2016—the club is holding five different open tryout sessions on Oct. 29-30, Nov. 26-27, Dec. 17-18, 2016 and Jan. 28-29 and Feb. 25-26, 2017.
The tryout sessions are designed to provide a controlled environment where Smith, Head Coach and Technical Director Paul Buckle and other technical staff can evaluate players in both match and non-match situations. The controlled environment, says Smith, sets it apart from traditional player scouting and recruiting methods, as the technical staff can more critically assess skills like footwork, speed and ability to cross the ball.
“They aren’t just playing eleven vs eleven,” said Smith. “They’re doing related practices where the coaching staff can see whether they can control the ball, have communication skills, etc. whereas in a game or scrimmage it’s difficult to do and evaluate all of that. They work in small groups based on position. It’s graded so that we have a certain number of players by position, so everyone gets a chance.”
Additionally, tryouts give Republic FC an opportunity to capitalize on the local talent soccer found throughout Sacramento.
The Sacramento region is known for producing professional soccer players, with more than 20 former and current Major League Soccer players with ties to the Sacramento region, such as Adam Jahn (Columbus Crew), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes), Miguel Aguilar (DC United), Amobi Okugo (Portland Timbers), Jalil Anibaba (Houston Dynamo), Connor Hallisey (Sporting Kansas City) and Ryan Hollingshead (FC Dallas).
Additionally, Republic FC’s roster this past season featured Matt LaGrassa (Pleasant Grove High School), Cameron Iwasa (Jesuit High School), Max Alvarez (Sacramento State), Elliot Hord (UC Davis) and Dominik Jakubek (Lodi High School).
“It’s a rich area for talent,” said Smith.
Registration for 2016-2017 Republic FC Open Tryouts presented by Western Health Advantage is now open online. Registration is $215 and includes all administrative and online fees, lunch on both days, a t-shirt, access to medical staff, up to five hours of training each day and the opportunity to receive oral and written evaluation by Republic FC’s coaching and technical staff. Select players will be invited to additional rounds of tryouts, combines, preseason training camp for further evaluation or to sign a contract with Republic FC.
“We give players feedback on exactly how they’ve done and where they need and can improve. And often if they do well, we bring them back for another combine,” said Smith. “It’s a win-win situation because it gives us a chance to find players who truly make an impact for us on the pitch.”
To learn more about Open Tryouts presented by Western Health Advantagevisit https://www.sacrepublicfc.com/football-club/player-tryouts.
The tryout sessions are designed to provide a controlled environment where Smith, Head Coach and Technical Director Paul Buckle and other technical staff can evaluate players in both match and non-match situations. The controlled environment, says Smith, sets it apart from traditional player scouting and recruiting methods, as the technical staff can more critically assess skills like footwork, speed and ability to cross the ball.
“They aren’t just playing eleven vs eleven,” said Smith. “They’re doing related practices where the coaching staff can see whether they can control the ball, have communication skills, etc. whereas in a game or scrimmage it’s difficult to do and evaluate all of that. They work in small groups based on position. It’s graded so that we have a certain number of players by position, so everyone gets a chance.”
Additionally, tryouts give Republic FC an opportunity to capitalize on the local talent soccer found throughout Sacramento.
The Sacramento region is known for producing professional soccer players, with more than 20 former and current Major League Soccer players with ties to the Sacramento region, such as Adam Jahn (Columbus Crew), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes), Miguel Aguilar (DC United), Amobi Okugo (Portland Timbers), Jalil Anibaba (Houston Dynamo), Connor Hallisey (Sporting Kansas City) and Ryan Hollingshead (FC Dallas).
Additionally, Republic FC’s roster this past season featured Matt LaGrassa (Pleasant Grove High School), Cameron Iwasa (Jesuit High School), Max Alvarez (Sacramento State), Elliot Hord (UC Davis) and Dominik Jakubek (Lodi High School).
“It’s a rich area for talent,” said Smith.
Registration for 2016-2017 Republic FC Open Tryouts presented by Western Health Advantage is now open online. Registration is $215 and includes all administrative and online fees, lunch on both days, a t-shirt, access to medical staff, up to five hours of training each day and the opportunity to receive oral and written evaluation by Republic FC’s coaching and technical staff. Select players will be invited to additional rounds of tryouts, combines, preseason training camp for further evaluation or to sign a contract with Republic FC.
“We give players feedback on exactly how they’ve done and where they need and can improve. And often if they do well, we bring them back for another combine,” said Smith. “It’s a win-win situation because it gives us a chance to find players who truly make an impact for us on the pitch.”
To learn more about Open Tryouts presented by Western Health Advantagevisit https://www.sacrepublicfc.com/football-club/player-tryouts.