Friday January 14th kicked off the weekend with classic Colorado weather: freezing cold with winter storm conditions, followed by a day full of sunshine and a warm breeze. But for 80 soccer hopefuls, the weather was the least important element of this fateful weekend.
Every year, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC hold an open tryout for the team. Anyone who wants can register to try out, with the dream of ending the weekend with a preseason contract in hand. A minimum of one person is promised a spot on the preseason roster, where they have a few extra weeks to try and prove themselves and nab that coveted position on the team for the regular season. This year, the Switchbacks had over 80 people register to tryout.
The prospects were split into three groups, in order to maximize their chances of being seen, and each day the coaches made cuts to the groups before subsidizing them together for one cohesive training day on Sunday.
After a rigorous weekend of training, the Switchbacks FC training staff narrowed the pool down to four men who were invited to train with the team for the preseason: Titus Grant, and Denilo Pekovic are currently in training with the team, while Ali Mohamed and Alexander Zdravecky will join the team later this month. Grant, a Colorado Springs native, previously hails from the Seattle Pacific University’s men’s soccer team, While Pekovic is from the Colorado Rapids Academy. Zdravecky is currently involved with REAL Colorado – a great program here in CO that the Switchbacks are proud to collaborate with, and Ali Mohamed, a Djibouti native, played for Johnson and Wales University’s men’s soccer team.
A special thank you also to our Trailheads SG, who stood in the middle of a snowstorm on Friday evening, to provide food, drink, and moral support to our hopefuls. Their enthusiasm helped keep up the exciting atmosphere of the weekend!
