The Frisco Fighters is looking to bring “50 Yards of Fury” to North Texas, and need your help to do so.
The Indoor Football League team will be holding tryouts for the team Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Frisco. The Fighters has already signed five people from its previous tryout, and claim the team will sign at least one player from Saturday’s tryout.
Registration opens at 7:30 a.m., and the tryouts begin at 9 a.m. and last until 1 p.m.
“If they shine, we’ll sign them,” says Fighters Head Coach Clint Dolezel.
A former star Dallas Desperados quarterback, Dolezel was the 2019 Arena Football League Coach of the Year and three-time ArenaBowl champion. He also served as head coach of the Dallas Vigilantes. He says they currently have 34 people signed up to play, but need six more people to fill out the roster.
Dolezel is also a Hall of Fame player in the Arena Football League, winning his first ArenaBowl championship ring in 2001 in Grand Rapids. He ranks among the AFL’s all-time leaders in passing yards, touchdown passes, passing attempts, and completions.
Stephen Evans, president and general manager of the Fighters, called Dolezel the best head coach in indoor football. “He’s smart, he’s tactical, he understands the game from every angle, and he’s a Texan through and through,” Evans said in a prepared statement. “But the best part about it is he’s a better person than he is a coach, and that’s saying a lot given his significant list of accomplishments.”
The largest and longest-running indoor-style football association, the IFL showcases 13 teams in 10 states since forming in 2008. It’s similar to the NFL with players wearing pads and helmets and beating each other to death to reach the endzone. Only the fields and goal posts are different. Instead of playing 100 yards, they run plays on a 50-yard field and the goal posts are slightly shorter than the outdoor ones.
Steve Germain, the owner of the new Frisco franchise, recently purchased the rights of the entire league to ensure it continues to thrive. Germain had success with the Columbus Destroyers from Columbus, Ohio, but then the Arena Football League folded. So he decided to take matters into his own hands to make sure the right decisions would be made to keep the Frisco Fighters intact and bring stability to the IFL.
The season begins March 12 with all home games being played at Comerica Center in Frisco.
