ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rowdies kickoff preseason training camp this week with a massive roster overhaul.
Head coach Dominic Casciato said the shake-up was needed after the team missed out on a playoff spot for the first time since 2018.
“I think the biggest thing is we needed guys that were hungry to be here,” Casciato said. “Hungry not just to represent the Rowdies, but hungry to win here. It was kind of needed, the overhaul. Now we’re really fortunate to have guys that want to be here, give everything for the shirt and give us a team we can be proud of.”
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Of the 17 new players signed to the roster, the biggest offseason addition is forward MD Myers.
“Hopefully I’m going to score a lot of goals on this field,” Myers said. “I can’t wait to celebrate in front of these fans.”
Myers has scored 36 goals over the last two seasons for the Charleston Battery, but is excited to join a Tampa Bay club with so much history.
“This is a club that my dad talked about watching,” Myers said. “It’s exciting to be able to come here. I talked to Dom. He’s really changing things around. I really like his style.”
Having an entire new roster can be a challenge, but newly-signed attacker Russ Cicerone said it can a good thing, especially, when they have a two month training camp to gel.
“It creates competition because there’s no set spots, who’s going to play,” Cicerone said. “It’s a fresh hunger, hungry faces that want to prove themselves. Show the staff and the fans what kind of players they are.”
Kyle Burger / WFTS
“Whenever you put a team together, the relationships are most important,” Casciato added. “Everybody has good players. But what differentiates those teams that win, and those teams that don’t? To me, it’s how connected the players are.”
This Saturday, Jan. 17, the Rowdies will host an open training session at Al Lang Stadium for the public. Players will be training from 10-11 a.m. and will meet with fans after for autographs and photos.
The season opener will be on March 7 at Birmingham.
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