Figured with the statements made that we're going to have a lot of trialists in camp this year that it'd be good to have a thread to document those players and information about them. Currently we know of 3 trialists, Kentucky goalkeeper Dan Williams, who was mentioned in the draft thread as having a trial with KC U-20 International Vincenzo Bernardo http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110...s-u-20-international-vincenzo-bernardo-begins Wisconsin goalkeeper, Alex Horwath, who trained with us last year. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2010/01/afternoon_roundup.html
http://www.backpost.net/2010/01/kc-wizards-invitees-tryout-some.html Thad has a post on the trials/tryouts going on over at Swope today. Some interesting names. Pizarro and DeMartin are there, as is apparently Ian Walker... I don't recognize any of the other players though.
Its really strange to hear about Ian Walker in camp -- I honestly have not heard so much of a whisper of his name since he left Leicester 3-4 years ago. He was a quality keeper at Spurs with some seriously crappy haircuts. If we are looking for a solid backup he should be dependable, reliable and was always a good decision maker and shot stopper .... but then I have not seen him play in a decade ...
Yeah I remember him a bit from his time at Leicester. He could be a decent back up for the right price (aka somewhere between 50-75K). My worry is a combination of the fact that he's 38 (yes still not that old for a keeper) and hasn't played a game since the 06-07 season according to wikipedia (yes I know).
Wikipedia is backed up by the BBC amongst others .... I'm pretty sure he would have gotten the odd researve run out, and would still have been training with Bolton and is probably as or more prepared than Pardo etc especially when you tack on his experience ... I guess I figure if he was worth signing by anybody, he would have been ... especially now during the transfer Window. His ex-wife ........ better than Posh by a mile. http://www.google.com/search?q=suzi+walker
Another one of the trialists is Ryan Maxwell. Interesting background...2009 1st round draft pick (New England), Jamaican U-20 midfielder before playing at Division II University of Tampa. Ives take on him after the 2009 combine...
Interesting, he was waived in preseason last year by the Revs. http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/index.cfm?ac=latestnewsdetail&pid=36572&pcid=115 Why's it seem like Nicol's first round picks are either really good or don't really amount to much?
Had it pointed out to me that one of the guys, the one with curly hair in DSC01071 is Tom Heinemann from St. Louis, went to Rockhurst. http://www.charlestonbattery.com/team_roster.asp?pid=2803
St. Louis Lions tweeted earlier that three of their former players were training with us this weekend.
http://twitter.com/VB10 Looks like yesterday was the last day of the invitation tryout. I made it out for a bit of the scrimmage yesterday. Bernardo didn't look bad. The player that looked the best out there, in my opinion was Pizarro who looked really composed and controled the ball in the middle of the field.
Another trialist...Adam Kelemet from Long Island University, has also played in PDL for New Jersey Rangers, Palm Beach Pumas and Laredo Heat...says he's a central midfielder. http://www.liuathletics.com/news/2010/1/25/MSOC_0125104306.aspx
Louis Crayton and Nelson Pizarro are trailing with the team right now along with others according to Thad and Hillcrest.
Has anyone heard how Vincenzo Bernardo's trial went? Just curious if anyone knows what KC thought of the kid? Thanks.
Good video of draft pick Mauro Fuzetti with highlights and interview from Univ. of Michigan website. http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=mich&media=163575
I saw this on Robb's twitter: RobbHeineman: two new midfielders from moldova - both looked pretty good Hope this is the right place for the post.
Thad had mentioned there was at least 1 European trialist in camp and 1 other foreign trailist, so I guess those are the two. http://www.backpost.net/2010/01/wizards-camp-2010-day-2.html I'm guessing that these two players come on the recommendation of Zambrano.
Lots of people coming in and seemingly pretty good as well. We were all pretty skeptical about how much rebuilding they were going to do - or at least I was. I guess I owe them an apology for doubting.
I think a lot of us were expecting some serious slashing happening on last year's roster. They are approaching it the right way.....bring in a bunch of new guys to push for starting spots and then start moving out players who don't fit in. That being said, they have a lot of GK's in camp. I still hope they bring Kevin back. It makes things stickier with him currently without a contract. Competition is good though. Kevin has been very sturdy, but we need to have a solid back-up in case an injury happens, and I don't think we have had this many keepers in camp for quite a while.
I can see a lot of our returning players getting the axe if some of there trialist work out. We have most of our roster returning so we dont have a lot of extra space. Anyone want to speculate on who will be waived when the time comes? I am getting very concerned about the Hartman situation. I posted in the offseason thread about getting some details if someone knows something.
The way I'm reading the situation, the team is playing hardball with Hartman. A "hey look at all these goalkeepers we can choose from, we don't really need you anyways" type attitude. Hope trying to re-sign him at a cheaper price tag doesn't backfire on them.
Re: Hartman - I do not think anybody they have brought in has the caliber of Hartman and while Walker was a great keeper, it has been at least five years since he played well and he will not be playing cheaply. I honestly think they probably have keepers in just in case Hartman does not manage to get his contract in order rather than to pressure him etc etc. There are no restrictions on the number of people in camp, and you have to remember that Pardo was out of contract as well meaning there are potentially two slots available. It just seems prudent to assess a lot of talent. I wonder if Kevin is holding out for a CBA agreement to get potentially better contract terms? I bet he signs within a week of it being settled!
http://www.backpost.net/2010/01/wizards-camp-players-list.html Thad has a list of trialists in camp: Brown, Kyle Aaron - F, Austin Aztex, Houston, Real Salt Lake, New England (drafted) Crayton, Louis - GK DC United, Liberian National Team Gehrig, Eric - M Loyola Glaeser, Matt - GK Hartford, Pallo-Iirot Horwath, Alex - GK Wisconsin Kemenes, Szabolcs - GK MTK Hungaria, Hungarian U-21,20,19,17 teams Pizzaro, Nelson - M Miami FC, Kansas City Wizards Moldovan Trialist #1 - M ****** Moldovan Trialist #2 - M ****** (Withholding the names of the two Moldovan trialists as requested) Possibly more joining team in Arizona He also lists Walker but he's not in camp right now.