Rocket City United Begins Preseason

Tonight, Rocket City United's coach Desmond Armstrong will begin moving the pawns into place on the quest to defend the National Premier Soccer League's Southeast Region title and return to the NPSL Final Four as RCU opens its preseason practice schedule with an evening training session at Chapman Middle School.The team that takes part in the training tonight will certainly look a bit different from the one that lines up in the Madison City Schools Stadium for the season opener on May 22nd. The majority of the squad is expected to be made up of out-of-season college players who are finishing their spring classes in the next few weeks. So, the players for tonight's training will have a local flavor while the distant collegians will fill out the roster in the coming weeks.

Here's a breakdown of the expected local returners from the 2009 team:

Goalkeepers
Tyler Early - Last year's starter will be challenged for starting position by others in camp.
Jeffrey Preston - Good shot stopper who served as backup in '09 will be battling for playing time.

Defenders
Brian Hadley - Outside back who has worked very hard in the off-season and appears to be in top form.
Daniel Segewitz - Converted forward has a pinpoint crossing ability and will look to lock down the left back spot.
Steve Van Horn - The captain of the '08 squad is fighting to return from a knee injury that kept him off the field for most of the 2009 season.

Midfielders
Jesus Delgado - Crafty and attack-minded describes "Chuey", who will fight for a starting position.
Derek Pirtle - Industrious central midfielder will try to raise his technical game to match his intensity.

Forwards
Fernando Sanchez - Very technical player who has yet to find his best position.
Sutton Shults - Winger who has a howitzer shot from distance will look to see the field more in the 2010 campaign.