Comets Open Tryouts Recap

By Carley Taylor

The KC Comets kicked off their first organized event since March on Saturday afternoon with their open tryouts at the KC Soccer Dome - the practice home of the Comets for over 30 years.

Players from across Missouri, Kansas and even Texas funneled through the temperature check and to the registration table. Masked, they picked up their official Comets tryout t-shirt, got their number and headed to the field. Forty-six men showed up to try and make the team.

Approaching 2:00, the pro-hopefuls filled the field and geared up to prove they have what it takes to play professional arena soccer. The players paired up and started their warm-ups.

Comets Goalkeeper Coach, Alan Mayer, said, “This is one of the most talented groups of guys we’ve had so far, there’s quite a few who can really play.”

With players ranging in age from 18-24 years old, the Comets coaching staff utilized back to back drills and scrimmages to test the players’ speed, agility, endurance and skill level.

Impressed by this year’s talent, Comets Head Coach, Leo Gibson, said “We still have a lot to see, hopefully they can showcase a little bit more but it was a pretty good group compared to last year.”

Twenty-two players and 4 goalkeepers were invited back for the second day of the tryouts which starts at 10am on Sunday morning. The official 2020-2021 team roster will be posted in December, closer to the beginning of the season.