LA Force, a third-division professional soccer team based in Long Beach, is holding open tryouts on Feb. 22 at Long Beach City College where players age 16 and older will have a chance to earn a professional contract.
Players who perform well in the tryouts could be invited to join the team for its preseason schedule starting March 1.
Registration for the tryout costs $125 and comes with an LA Force training top. The deadline to register is 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday.
All skill levels are welcome and top college experience isn’t necessary for players to earn a spot on the team.
“We’re really trying to look at the Long Beach soccer playing community and try to see as many as possible who could potentially be signed as a pro,” said Alex Lujan, LA Force’s vice president and general manager.
Lujan declined to discuss how much money players could expect to make if they’re signed because the team is still negotiating with some of its current athletes. He said compensation is typically split between 70% salary and 30% incentives.
Last year, during the team’s first season playing at Veterans Stadium on the LBCC campus, LA Force captured its first National Independent Soccer Association trophy.
NISA is a professional men’s soccer league that is two levels below Major League Soccer.
For the preseason, LA Force will play eight local colleges, with a matchup against LBCC’s soccer team set for April 11.
The regular season will run from mid-April through September, with all home games played on the LBCC campus.
The tryout could also get players an invite to join FC Golden State Force, a player developmental program run by NISA Nation.
Early in his career, Lujan would primarily look to sign players with Division 1 experience but “my stance on that has changed because I’ve seen players who have been overlooked and not gotten into the system,” Lujan said.
Ari Claro, who transferred to LBCC after spending his freshman year at UC Irvine, earned a spot on the LA Force two seasons ago from an open tryout.
After one season at LBCC, he earned a full-ride scholarship to Division II Concordia University Irvine.
A few years after graduating, Claro was ready to give up pursuing a pro soccer career before his girlfriend encouraged him to sign up for the open tryout, he said.
Signing professionally with LA Force “felt surreal,” Claro said, “I kept telling myself it wasn’t going to be real until I see the signature on the paper.”
After spending one season with LA Force, Claro transferred to Capo FC in San Juan Capistrano. Claro said he’s looking to play with them again this year if it fits in with his work schedule.
LA Force played in Orange County two seasons ago, but made the shift to Long Beach looking to set up roots in the community, Lujan said.
This season, the players’ practice jerseys will feature the word “Beach,” something the club’s owner and Naples resident Bob Friedland teased after the team won the championship.
Last year, the soccer club focused on trying to build relationships with the Long Beach community and got a great response from fans, Lujan said.
“This year is about continuing that process,” Lujan said, with an emphasis on potential partnerships with the Long Beach Unified School District and local youth soccer clubs.