C.R. Rampage begin roster construction with tryouts

CEDAR RAPIDS – The name has been selected and a coach has been hired. Now it's on to the task of building an inaugural arena soccer roster for the expansion Cedar Rapids Rampage.

'We've got to get the right nucleus, the right core players,” Rampage Coach Jeff Kraft said. 'And once we have that, that's when we'll start working on the chemistry and all of the things included to have a championship team.”

The process began Saturday with the first of two open player tryouts at the U.S. Cellular Center, which will also serve as the team's home arena. Kraft had a bevy of prospects to mull over. For a process that he has seen attract 15-20 players elsewhere, the number of participants Saturday was approximately 65 from as far away as Rome, Italy (Antonello and Patrizio Paradiso).

'I can look at a guy and see if he's got the tools,” Kraft said. 'I think we're going to find some young, hungry guys and to me, that's what it's all about.”

Kraft ran the attendees through a series of basic drills designed to display their movement off the ball, sprinting and a gauge of their ability to fend off opponents as they possess the ball.

'They're the things I look for,” Kraft said. 'It's a fast-paced game. You've got to have skills and at the same time, the knowledge.”

Former Cedar Rapids Xavier player Charlie Bales (2007-10) – a center midfielder for the Saints' 2010 state championship team – was among the participants.

A two-time conference defender of the year at Western Illinois, Bales would travel back to Iowa each summer and play for the Des Moines Menace, an outdoor team in the Premier Development League. After growing up playing daily pick-up games at the old Sport Zone in Hiawatha, Bales is looking for an opportunity to rekindle his love for the indoor game with the Rampage.

'Growing up playing indoors, I loved it,” Bales said. 'I used to play on three or four teams at a time. So I see a lot of familiar faces out here. A lot of these guys are guys I grew up playing against. So it's kind of cool to see familiar faces after four or five years.”

There was also one local female participant - Isabelle Hoffman of Central City, who prepped at Cedar Valley Christian.

As far as his preferred style of play, Kraft says he does not adhere to a certain philosophical 'system,” instead putting forth the belief that each teammate works hard for the other. He stressed that the abilities of successful outdoor soccer players does not always translate to the indoor game.

'I've seen many great outdoor players come indoor and they're lost because it's just a little different pace of the game,” Kraft said. 'In outdoor, you can be a sweeper or a stopper and not touch the ball for 10 minutes. Here, as soon as you touch the turf, you're playing. You'll never see somebody walking in indoor.”

The tryouts mark the beginning of what should be an active 45 days of player acquisitions for the Rampage. Up to 25 players will be invited to training camp, which begins Oct. 1. The Major Arena Soccer League free agency period began Saturday, with both Cedar Rapids and fellow expansion franchise Hartford getting a four-day window to negotiate exclusively with free agents from now-defunct franchises in Wichita, Kan., Tulsa, Okla. and Oxford City, Texas.

The tryout continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com