TAMPA BAY– The Tampa Bay Storm had its final open tryout prior to the 2012 Arena Football League Season Saturday, February 11 at Skyway Park (Tampa).  Nearly 100 athletes participated in the tryout with the goal of catching the eye of the Storm front office.

Those in attendance evaluating the workout included team president Derrick Brooks, vice president of football operations Jeff Gooch, head coach Dave Ewart and director of player personnel Dave Wilson.  They were joined by the new additions to the coaching staff; offensive coordinator John Gregory, wide receivers coach Lawrence Samuels and defensive backs coach Donnie Abraham.

“We were excited with the level of talent that came out today,” said Ewart.  “There were definitely some players that shined today.  We will evaluate the film and compare notes in the office and I am confident we will be calling on some of the guys that came out today.”

The athletes all participated in combine-style testing; including the 40-yard dash, two separate shuttle drills, as well as individual position drills and one-on-one drills.  The staff cataloged all names and numbers and captured the activities on tape to help in the evaluation process

Participating athletes came from across the nation with a majority of them from the state of Florida.  The experience level of the participants varied from small to major college football programs, to those that have played in smaller indoor leagues, to a few who have played in the National Football League.

The Storm will open training camp for the 2012 AFL season next Saturday, February 18 at Skyway Park.