Bethlehem Steel FC announces open tryouts

The Philadelphia Union announced this morning that there will be an open tryout for Bethlehem Steel FC on November 22nd. Union head coach Jim Curtin stated a desire to try and see what kind of young local talent BSFC have available to them on their doorstep, and the club looks set to follow up on that. The tryout will take place Sunday, November 22nd from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Lehigh University's Kaufmann Soccer fields. Aside from new Bethlehem Steel FC head coach Brendan Burke, Jim Curtin and the Union first team staff as well as representatives from the PDL will also be in attendance. There are only 300 spots available for try-outs, and walk ons will not be allowed. After 3:00 PM, spots will be offered to some candidates who will be brought back for a later date, which appears to be sometime in December.

This seems like a good (if unusual) move for BSFC, and really plays well into the mantra that they want to try and build youth talent from around the area instead of just hunting for players from other USL sides and some MLS washouts. Burke seems really enthusiastic about the opportunity and given his staggering track record for developing young talent, I wouldn't be surprised to see some players who came out for the tryout make BSFC.