After two days of tryouts, 26 players sat silently in a semicircle, waiting to hear if they had made the cut.
PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Sky Blue FC Soccer, a new Women’s Professional Soccer league, held tryouts at GoodSports USA in Wall Feb. 25-26. Above: Rebekah Patrick slides to clear the ball. Left: Anne Anders (r) and Kelci Hegg go up for a headball. On Feb. 25, 51 players had entered the practice field at GoodSports USA at Allaire in Wall Township, hoping to play for the Sky Blue FC Soccer team, a part of the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer.
By the next day’s tryouts, the number of hopefuls had been almost halved.
After another tough day of tryouts, by 11:15 a.m. Feb. 26, Blue Sky FC head coach Ian Sawyers had selected the three players he would bring with him for the season, but it wasn’t an easy decision.
“We are dealing with people’s dreams here,” Sawyers said after talking to the three who made the team. “It’s very emotional and taxing choosing who we will bring onto the team. It was very difficult.”
The three who made the cut were goalkeeper Shannon Myers, midfield/ defense Courtney Nash and forwardMaryVelan.
Their reaction to being selected: a collective “Wooo!”
Of the 51 players, Nash, of Mason, Mich., was one of four who were invited to the tryouts and she was thrilled to be picked for the team.
“I’m excited and shocked a little,” said Nash, a six-time All-American in soccer and track and field. “It’s a feeling that is hard to explain.”
Nash was invited to try out for the team after the December combine, where players from around the county were selected to try out for the league.
She said that after two days of tryouts and seeing the level of competition and talent of the other women on the field, it was a great feeling.
“I’m excited to be one of the three,” Nash said. “It’s difficult because you look at the other girls and of course when you play them, you are evaluating them, and you’re like, ‘Oh, she’s doing well.’There are a lot of good players that are out here, and it’s an honor to be one of them.”
Sky Blue FC is part of the larger Sky Blue Soccer organization, based in Somerset that teaches and works with players from a young age.
Home games will be played at Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway.
Sawyers, who is also the team’s general manager, has been a coach in women’s soccer for a number of years.
He was the head coach of the San Jose CyberRays during all three years of the previous women’s soccer league, the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), from 2001 to 2003, as well as the coach for the Stanford University women’s soccer program from 1993 to 1996.
He said that after rounding out his roster, his team is impressive.
“I am very excited about this team,” Sawyers said. “We have a lot of good international players, which gives our league a very unique look. Also bringing in players from the Women’s National Team shows the quality of the players that we have.”
Each team in the WPS was given three U.S. Women’s National Team members as well as a dispersal draft of the best available international players.
Familiar names on the roster includeWomen’sNationalTeammembers Heather O’Reilly, Natasha Kai and Christie Rampone.
Players were selected to each team regionally to give the league a local appeal.
O’Reilly, a graduate of East Brunswick High School, was nominated in 2007 for Sports Illustrated’s
2007 Sportsman of the Year.
Rampone, of Point Pleasant, played collegiate soccer at Monmouth University.
Velan, of Stamford, N.Y., said that she is excited to be playing with team members of such high caliber.
“They’re the best of the best,” said Velan, who went to SUNYOneonta. “That’s what I’m looking most forward to, just putting my stuff out there.”
Players came fromaround the tristate area to try out for the final few spots on the roster, and some had attended local universities such as Rutgers and Seton Hall.
One player flew in from Spain for the tryouts.
International players already on the team include Brazil National Team members Ester and Rosana, who are known by single names only, as well as Australian Sarah Walsh.
Myers, who played for Syracuse University, said that she is looking forward to meeting the rest of the team.
“I know none of them and I’m excited just to see that level,” Myers said. “Just to be completely enveloped by that level. That’s going to be pretty awesome.”
The other six teams in the league are the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride (Santa Clara, Calif.), Los Angeles Sol, St. Louis Athletica and the Washington Freedom.
Teams in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas will enter the league in 2010.
According to the WPS Web site, the league is the “highest level women’s professional soccer league in North America.”
Formed in September 2007 as the result of the efforts of the Women’s Soccer Initiative Inc., WPS will begin play in April.
Franchises are individually owned and operated by a group of investors in each market. These include AEG-L.A. Women’s Soccer, Bay Area Women’s Soccer, Boston Women’s Soccer, Chicago Professional Women’s Soccer, Hendricks Investment Holdings (Washington, D.C.), St. Louis United Soccer and Sky Blue Women’s Soccer Inc. (New Jersey/New York).
In addition, two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and former Yahoo! President and COO Jeff Mallett are investors and part owners in the league.
The league’s mission statement is, “Our mission is to be the premier women’s soccer league in the world, and the global standard by which women’s professional sports are measured.”
Fox Soccer Channel will air weekly Sunday night matches and the WPS All-Star Game with Fox Sports Net plans to air the semifinal and league championship contests.
The national television contract will be in effect through the 2011 season with an option for 2012.
Sawyers said that he was excited to take this team forward and watch the league grow.
“We have a lot of proving to do,” Sawyers said. “The top one, two, three, four, five players in the world are all in our league. It’s going to be exciting.”
The league’s inaugural game will played between the Los Angeles Sol and the Washington Freedom on March 29 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Sky Blue FC will kick off its season against the Los Angeles Sol on April 5 at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater.
After the trials were over, some of those who tried out were asked to keep in touch with the coaches, and Sawyers said all of them impressed him. As the rest of the players left the practice bubble, the three who made the team stood at the center of the field talking to coaches and training staff. When asked who the first person they would call to share their news would be, the answers differed.
“My mom,” Velan said.
“My boyfriend,” Nash quickly responded.
Myers put her hands over her mouth and thought for an extra 15 seconds.
“I don’t even know yet,” Myers said. “I’m still so excited.”