FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2015
Primary Contact | Jeremy Schultz, [email protected], 559.320.2543
FRESNO FUEGO HOSTING ANNUAL WINTER COMBINE PLAYER IDENTIFICATION TRYOUT IN JANUARY
Select participants will be guaranteed entry into Fuego Preseason Camp that will determine the 2016 roster
FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Fuego Futbol Club, four-time Southwest Division Champions in the Premier Development League (PDL), will conduct their annual Winter Combine, presented by Marquez Brothers’ El Mexicano Brand, during the first weekend of the 2016 calendar. The Combine will take place at Clovis East High School, over two days, January 2-3, 2016.
All players looking to participate in the 2016 Winter Combine must be at least 16 years of age, and cannot be on an active high school team roster due to California Interscholastic Federation compliance issues. To register, interested individuals can apply online at www.bit.ly/2016FuegoCombineReg or fill out the printable registration and waiver at www.bit.ly/2016FuegoCombine. A $50 fee for registration covers the cost to participate in the Combine and a commemorative Fuego Combine t-shirt.
***Deadline to register is midnight on Tuesday December 29, 2015***
“The annual Combine is designed to allow the Fuego coaching staff an opportunity to evaluate the state of physical conditioning of our current players and also give prospective players a showcase for their talents in hopes of making the 2016 roster,” stated General Manager Jeremy Schultz. “This year has an incredibly special dynamic as the soon-to-be-announced new Fresno Fuego Head Coach will be in attendance, executing the Combine to get his first view of the potential player pool. This should certainly put all our players on notice and create a very competitive environment. Every year we are pleasantly surprised by the discovery of emerging local talent and presenting an opportunity for players to contribute to Fuego’s winning history.”
The traditional purpose of the Winter Combine is to allow local and collegiate players the opportunity to work out with and against Fuego’s current roster as well as Fuego professional alumni players who are in town during the holiday break. The Fuego coaching staff will evaluate and identify participants with the goal of discovering talent for the 2016 United Soccer Leagues PDL season that begins in May of 2016. Select participants from the Combine will be guaranteed entry into the Fuego Preseason Camp. In addition to the 2016 PDL season, players will be eligible to participate in the ever-popular Fresno Fuego exhibition games typically played in the months of February and March.
The Combine will be broken down into three sessions over the weekend as follows:
Saturday January 2nd: Session 1 – 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Session 2 – 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday January 3rd: Session 3 – 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The Fresno Fuego is the only soccer platform of its caliber in the Central Valley and is dedicated to develop and prepare amateur players to advance into the highest professional levels of the sport of soccer. Each year new players get the opportunity to compete amongst top tier players in working towards earning a spot on the Fresno Fuego roster.
Participants coming from outside the area and needing accommodations are urged to contact Fuego General Manager Jeremy Schultz at [email protected] to receive a special hotel rate.
ABOUT THE FRESNO FUEGO
The Fresno Fuego are four-time Champions of the Southwest Division in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, the top level of amateur soccer in North America. Founded in 2003, the team competes in the newly-formed Central Pacific Division of the PDL Western Conference. More than 50 Fuego players have moved on to sign professional contracts. The team plays its home games in the heart of Downtown Fresno at Chukchansi Park. Season Tickets, Group and Birthday packages, and fundraising options for the 2016 season are currently available by contacting Jordan Wiebe at [email protected].
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