Before Las Vegas gets its football team, it’s getting a futbol team. The Las Vegas Lights start playing next year.
The new franchise will bring in pro talent from around the world, but over the weekend local soccer players got a chance to sneak onto the squad.
The team held tryouts at Kellogg Zaher Soccer Complex where about 500 hopefuls showed off their talent to try to nab one of the 23 spots up for grabs. One of the open spots will go to a local player.
“You have no handcuffs, no history, no bad habits, and at the end of the day, I’m a fan, and I’ve always believed that when you have a player with a local story, it’s just better,” said Brett Lashbrook, Owner/CEO Las Vegas Lights FC.
Experience level of the players varied with ages of players ranging from 17 to 35.
The first day of tryouts kicked off Saturday. On Sunday, some of those players were invited back out to further demonstrate their skills and ability in front of the head coach.
One local player said he’s played soccer since he was a kid, and this is an amazing opportunity to make it onto a professional team.
“I can really feel the fire when I’m playing soccer, so there’s nothing that gives me that natural passion. It’s always been that way since I was five,” said Tyler Moriarty, local soccer player.
Registration for the event was $20 per player and all proceeds will benefit the UNLV Soccer Foundation, Nevada Youth Soccer Association and Nevada Adult Soccer Association.
The players will now have to wait for a call from the team to see if they made the cut. The players who get a call will move on to a private round of tryouts starting on Monday.
