Photo credit: MattAzevedo.com
Raptors 905 announced Friday they will host open tryouts on Sept. 16 at Goldring Centre for High Performance on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus.
At a cost of $225 ($275 if you wait too long), you will get the opportunity to run through drills and scrimmages in front of 905 staff, perhaps even earning one of the allocated “local tryout player” slots for training camp.
From the release:
Players interested in participating in the open tryout can register online at Raptors905.com.
Participants that register and submit payment before September 10, 2017 will have access to early bird pricing of $225 plus applicable taxes. AfterSeptember 10, 2017, and on the day of the tryout, the full registration fee of $275 plus applicable taxes will be applied.
Space for the tryouts is limited and closed for public viewing. Interested participants should register early to guarantee their place. Hopefuls should arrive prepared to participate in team drills, individual skills work and scrimmages. Raptors 905 coaches and staffers will be on hand for player evaluations.
This will mark the third year in a row the 905 have held open tryouts.
Last year, Antwaine Wiggins impressed enough there that the 905 actually used a draft pick to make sure they landed him, while Negus Webster-Chan turned that tryout into a camp invite and then a roster spot. Greg Morrow, Zeke Marshall, and Jeremiah Williams also leveraged a strong tryout into camp invite. The year prior, Jabs Newby, Wlater Pitchford, Keanau Post, Ashton Smith, and Kevin Thomas all earned camp invites out of the open tryout, with Pitchford, Smith, and Post all seeing time with the 905 during the 2015-16 season.
This is a really good way to shine a spotlight on some local talent and maybe uncover a gem or two. (It’s also a keen way to add a player they already like to the roster if they think they might go undrafted.) Last year, Jared Sullinger held a contest and paid for one fan to sign up, and while that was really fun, the takeaway was that the level of competition at the open tryout is pretty high. If you’ll be trying out, RR would love to hear from you beforehand.
