2011 USA Revolution Squad Announced!
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Monday, March 14 - In anticipation of the largest ever AFL International Cup, to be held in Australia during August this year, Revolution Coach Matt Bishop has named the 2011 Revolution squad.
Twenty-four teams from all over the world will participate in the fourth AFL International Cup and the expectations on the U.S.A. team are high. “Ideally we would like to exceed our best ever performance of a 3rd place finish and play in the Grand Final to be played at the home of Australian Football, the Melbourne Cricket Ground,” said Coach Bishop.
The squad was finalized after the team training camp that was held in Austin, Texas, over the weekend of February 25-27. The players were chosen from an extensive list of quality candidates that have been involved with the Revolution during 2009 and 2010, including two successful 49th Parallel Cup campaigns against the Canadian Northwind.
The squad includes several high profile U.S. players that have experienced the International Cup tournament previously and also includes many players that will be attending for the first time.
The 2011 USA Revolution Squad:
| Brandon Blankenship - San Diego Lions Brandon Bludau - Baltimore DC Eagles Chris Candelaria - Denver Bulldogs Melvin Chen - Golden Gate Roos Bryan Dragus - Los Angeles Dragons Paul Duncan - North Carolina Tigers Steven Fashant - Minnesota Freeze Eric Floyd - Louisville Kings Danny Hansen - Minnesota Freeze Noor Jehangir - Austin Crows |
Ryan Kastl - Seattle Grizzlies Jay Levesque - Baltimore DC Eagles Jon Loring - Philadelphia Hawks Donnie Lucero - San Diego Lions Ryan McGettigan - Philadelphia Hawks Brent Mergen - Minnesota Freeze Patrick Miller - Philadelphia Hawks Tyler Mounce - Orange County Bombers Jacob Moyer - Baltimore DC Eagles Luke Nemeth - Nashville Kangaroos |
Jason Newquist - Denver Bulldogs Dan Sarbacker - Milwaukee Bombers Ryan Sutherland - Minnesota Freeze Saleh Tyebjee - Golden Gate Roos Justin Valley - Golden Gate Roos Andy Vanica - Denver Bulldogs Zach Weaver - Minnesota Freeze Andrew Werner - Minnesota Freeze RJ Wheelock - Baltimore DC Eagles |
“We have been excited by the number of talented players that have been involved in the program over the last two years,” said Assistant Coach Jason Becker. “There is no doubt that this group of players will do the USAFL proud!”
Leading the team will be Revolution veteran Dan “Sars” Sarbacker who adds a wealth of wisdom and a high level of professionalism to the squad. He will be ably supported by Luke Nemeth, Chris Candelaria, RJ Wheelock and Andrew Werner, the four of which form the leadership group with Sars.
The hard work is yet to come for the players as they prepare themselves to be in peak condition for the August tournament. The International Cup is to be played in Sydney from August 12th to the 20th and then Melbourne from the 21st to the 27th. Therefore players will be required to commit at least two and a half weeks, which is not an easy task when many of them are only given 10 days annual leave.
On top of the time commitment required of the players the financial commitment is also significant with players required to fund their own travel. There will be a big fundraising effort initiated in the very near future and the Revolution squad will be seeking the support of the U.S. Australian Football community.
It is an exciting year for footy in North America with the USA Freedom, the women’s national team, attending the International Cup for the first time. “We will be one of very few countries with both men’s and women’s teams at the tournament and I really look forward to being involved with such a large contingent of Americans coming to take the birthplace of footy by storm!” concluded Coach Bishop.
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