Players seek spot with EPLWA champion Shadow

The reigning Evergreen Premier League champion Spokane Shadow took the pitch for the first time to begin preparations for defending the EPLWA title in 2015, hosting their tryout sessions at Dwight Merkel Sports Complex in north Spokane Saturday.

Varlamos (C) and Brown (R) reviewing the trialists

Head coach Chad Brown and assistant Niko Varlamos oversaw the trialists in two sessions on the day in what were beyond blustery conditions as the wind was gusting continuously throughout the day. Technical ability and fitness were two items under evaluation as they went through a full two-hour session in the morning and had to return late in the after noon for another 90-minute session.

Things kicked off in the morning session with a bit of passing work, testing the players' abilities with quick passing routines. They followed it up with one-on-one and two-on-two challenges before being split into a pair of squads and scrimmages on a full field for about 50 minutes. Another scrimmage session was a large part of the afternoon session.

Having established a championship standard in play, the turnout came in at, not unexpectedly, about 30 players as the number of high school participants and area post-collegiate players significantly dropped off from a year ago.

The Shadow are projecting to kick off training sessions April 14 with their first game on the road May 3 at Wenatchee FC.

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