by RYAN HARBAUGH
Published: December 17, 2009

CHATTANOOGA, TN -- Several inches of snow covered the pitch at Finley Stadium yesterday morning  as Chattanooga FC  held their first open tryout for the 2010 season.  Fortunately, as the players warmed up, so did the temperature and by the time the 60 hopefuls took the field in front of the CFC coaching staff, the snow had melted away.

“We had a remarkable turnout, especially with the weather conditions the way they were in the morning”, said CFC’s co-founder Sheldon Grizzle who was impressed with the resolve of the hopeful players.  “There are not a lot of people who get excited about wearing shorts and t-shirts when it’s only 35 degrees.”

Players were put through several variations of short sided games and shooting drills before going full field for the remainder of the 2 hour work out.

“We had a great mixture of local talent, as well as players from 15 different collegiate programs scattered around the south,” added Grizzle.

Grizzle is not the only one happy with the skills on display.  Assistant coach Jimmy Weakly sees some players potentially wearing CFC blue. “This was only the first tryout, and there were a number of guys that could really help our squad this season.  This is really exciting to be seeing this kind of talent, and we look forward to see how some of these players will mess with our returning players.”

Those trialists who made their mark yesterday will have a few more hurdles to clear before pulling on the Chattanooga FC shirt.  Tryouts will continue in the coming weeks until the final roster positions will be set in February.