Among the players in Team 1, to be coached by Phil Wheddon and Tony Glavin, are former Orlando City U23 goalkeeper Chip Sanders, who played a key role in the Lions’ run to the Eastern Conference Championship. Also on the squad is Ventura County Fusion forward Chris Tsonis, who had three goals in 10 games as the Fusion won the PDL Southwest Division last season.
Team 2, coached by Gordon Hill and Paul Rogers, will be led by the River City Rovers’ Dillon ‘Buck’ Tufty, who had nine goals and three assists in 10 games in the PDL last summer. Other players to watch will include Des Moines Menace defender Logan McDaniel, and Sounders FC U23 midfielder Facundo Dipasquale.
Former Victoria Highlanders forward Sasa Plavsic will be a player to watch on Team 3, coached by Duncan Wilde and Scott Bowers. Plavsic had four goals in the PDL last summer, and is joined on the squad by a pair of players from Orlando City U23, with midfielder Anthony Arico having recorded three assists last season and defender Joseph Toby appearing in all 16 games last summer.
Former All-Southern Conference selection Moses Aduny, who previously played for the Mississippi Brilla and Orlando City U23 in the PDL, leads the group on Team 4. Colby Bauer, previously a standout midfielder for BYU, is also on the squad, set to be coached by Jeff Tipping and David Winner, as is former Reading United goalkeeper Bret Mollon.
Team 5, coached by Gwynne Williams and Abe Thompson, includes former Real Maryland defender Josh Danza, who last year was called into Puerto Rico National Team camp. Chicago Inferno midfielder Emir Zrnic, who had seven goals in the PDL last summer, is also on the squad, as is Panama City Beach Pirates midfielder Cory Adamson.
Rounding out the combine is Team 6, set to be led by Billy Steele and Mark Litton. Midfielder Nuno Gourgel of the 2012 PDL Champion FC London will be a player to watch, as will former Cincinnati Kings and St. Louis Lions standout Steven Beattie, a former MLS Supplemental Draft selection of Toronto FC.
The combine opens on Thursday afternoon as the first goalkeeper training session gets underway, with the field players arriving at IMG Academy on Friday for training and testing. Scrimmages are set to begin on Saturday morning. Live updates throughout the weekend will be available on the @USLPRO Twitter feed as players chase their professional aspirations.