By M. Jared Wilhelmsen | asst. sports editor
March 08, 2006

The Weber State University men’s soccer club has always had a lot of talent on their team. On Mar. 3-4 that talent was showcased as more than a dozen Weber State players attended the open tryouts for Ogden’s newest soccer franchise, the Ogden Outlaws.

The Outlaws are part of the Premier Development League, an amateur league that is part of the United Soccer League.

In December of 2005, it was announced that Ogden would be the home of one of the newest expansion teams with the PDL. Team owner and head coach Mike Hickman helped get the funding for the team with help from Ogden City and local sponsors.

The league is set up for college players who need a place to play during their college off-season. It also gives these players a chance to be seen by professional scouts from professional clubs all over the United States.

March 3 and 4 were open tryouts for any players who had interest in making the team. More than a dozen players from Weber State attended the tryouts, represented well and made the first cut.

“They were great; they did well. There are a handful that have a great shot of being on the team,” Hickman said of the Weber State players who tried out.

There were also a number of past Weber State players who attended the tryouts. One of these players was Ryan Taylor.

Taylor was Weber State’s men’s soccer head coach for the 2005 season. Taylor talked about his love for the game, and even though he was one of the older players who were trying out, he still felt he could compete with the young guys and felt his chances of making the team were good.

“I can play with the kids still­­ — mentally and knowing the game of soccer, I am a much better player now than I have ever been,” Taylor said. “I think I did good; Friday I played as good as I could. All in all I did well.”

More than 70 players, mostly local, attended the tryouts last weekend. The first cut was made on Sunday, and about 20 were cut. There is another day of tryouts on Mar. 11 where the coaches can get a better look at the players. The final roster will not be made until late April, when other college players that were invited to attend and were not able to leave school will be present to fight for a roster spot. After all is said and done, there will be around 26 players on the team. Not all of them will dress for games, but all are needed to fill the squad.

Weber State represented very well, a lot of the local talent that play for Weber State made the cut and that says a lot about the strength of soccer in the area.

“Most of the Weber State guys that I saw had all done really well,” Taylor said. “That says a lot about Weber State’s program if the best players in the area play for the university.”

It is not an easy thing to do when deciding who makes the team, and who doesn’t. There is such a strong pool of local talent that the coaches need multiple tryouts to determine who can play at this high a level of competition, and who can’t.

The age of the players will make a difference when deciding if a player is to be cut or not. League rules state that only a few players over the age of 23 may be on the roster. For the older players, that creates a problem. With Taylor being 28 years old, and quite a few other players over the age of 23, these players are battling for those few roster spots.

Of the problems his age could create, “Not athletically, no, but rules-wise, yes; the numbers are totally against you.”

Taylor said there are still a few years of competitive soccer left in him and knows that he can help the Outlaws.

There is a good chance that a few Weber State players will make the team and will represent the university well.