THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Chill are starting preparations for the upcoming 2011 season earlier than usual this year. The Club has announced that it will hold open tryouts for their Premier Development League (PDL) roster at the Sports Dome Saturday April 9th and Sunday April 10th, 2011.
Chill Head Coach, Tony Colistro along with staff will conduct all tryouts for players looking to find spots on the 2011 team. The PDL is the top league in North America for the development of players with professional aspirations. The Chill have proven success in their 12 year history which has seen several players join the higher ranks, in particular Kosuke Kimura and Shaun Francis who are presently in the MLS.
The Chill have experienced a great deal of success in the past four seasons, making the play-offs each year, being crowned Heartland Division champions three times, Central Conference Champions twice, and two visits to the PDL title game. The team won their first title in 2008 vs. the Laredo Heat, however, lost in last year’s final to the Portland Timbers U-23.
Tryouts will be limited in numbers and will be filled in a first come-first serve basis. The fee to attend the tryouts is $75.00 for both two hour sessions. Players who are invited back will be refunded the fee. Registration forms can be found on-line at www.thunderbaychill.com.
“With so much interest in our team, it only made sense that we start to look at players early enough to fill in spots that we fill would help the team,” states Coach Colistro. The head coach didn’t confirm any returning players for the 2011 season, but was quite confident in the strength of the team that will represent the Chill in 2011.