Usually at an open tryout, you get a really mixed bag of applicants, from the obvious stars to the “I played in the backyard” variety. But this did not appear to be the case at the inaugural open tryout for the Daytona ThunderBirds, which was held Saturday morning. The player hopefuls who attended the Tryout/Training Camp were prepared, talented and determined and it showed in the effort each player exhibited on the field. And you could even sense a greater degree of dedication and preparation on the part of the Coaches and support personnel that conducted the tryouts. This is arena football. This is af2. And the ThunderBirds have stepped it up.After the usual warm up exercises and drills, and a meeting with the players and coaches, individuals were tested and timed in the 40 yard sprint, a four cone drill, a three cone drill, and an agility test. Players were then given a chance to show their stuff 1 on 1, and then 3 on 3. Head Coach Herkie Walls had a timetable and a plan, and they stuck to it. It was obvious that this was a no-nonsense tryout and not just a walk through for last year’s players.Officially, 32 applicants registered; however, at least two dozen former players gathered at the sidelines, checking out the competition, renewing old acquaintances and meeting the new coaches. One would suspect that many of these players will be in attendance at the next tryout/camp, tentatively scheduled for January.   Among the returning players at Saturdays tryout from last years Daytona Thunder were Justin Daniels, Kwasie Kwaku, E.J. Gordon, Tarell Moree, Justin Brown, Aaron Sousa, Marvin Braddy and Joe Giddens. It was nice to see some of the teams former players on the sidelines, notably Brad Lee, Tommy Moody, Levar Sims, Myqual Spann and Steve Candidate just to mention a few. Also stopping by were several players from the now defunct Osceola Ghostriders, James Smith,  Terrance Bunting, James Panui and Roger Sippio, brother of AFL great Bobby Sippio who's currently playing with the Chicago Rush.
At the conclusion of the camp, the coaches addressed the player hopefuls. While the coaches were pleased with Saturday’s performances, they stressed that the Thunderbirds are now playing at the next level, and the caliber of play has to be improved for there to be success. The Coaches will be contacting the players and giving them their tryout evaluations.We would especially like to thank everyone who participated in the tryout for making it a success, especially our volunteers who gave up their Saturday to help out – Predators owners Mike McBath and Steve DeLuca and his "crew", former Predators great Ben Bennett, Jim Baker and his sons, Coach Steve Batterton,Tonya Black and Devin Nandlall. And special thanks to Head Coach Alvin B. Wyatt Sr. of the Bethune Cookman Wildcats and Bethune Cookman University for hosting our tryout. Also, we can't forget the outstanding coverage from the News-Journal's Taylor Moore. Taylor was there all day long sweating it out with the rest of us and made it a point to talk to everyone that was invloved.  The next Tryout/Camp will probably be in January. Bookmark the teams’ website, dbthunderbirds.com for further announcements.