San Diego Roundup : Sockers, Saying No Positions Guaranteed, Invite 46 to Tryouts

More than twice the usual number of players have been invited to the San Diego Sockers’ tryouts, which begin Saturday at the Mission Valley Soccer Center.

Usually, 20 to 25 players try out for the team, but this year, 46 players have been invited. The coaching staff will not say how many of the tryouts have a chance to make the squad, but team officials have said that none of the veterans has a guaranteed position. The Sockers’ streak of five straight championships was broken last season.

Among those trying out are goalkeeper Jeff Duback and defenders Steven Boardman, Manny Neves and Arturo Velazco. Neves played with the Sockers during the 1983-84 season. Duback, Boardman and Velazco are all from San Diego and played with the San Diego Nomads.

The field will be cut in half after the first day. Then coaches will trim the number of players daily until the final cut on Oct. 3.

The trials will be held twice a day, at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Practices will be held at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. after Sunday.

Veteran players report to camp on Monday. They will scrimmage for the first time on Wednesday at 2 p.m., with the site still to be determined.

The Sockers will play an exhibition game against San Diego State at the Aztec Bowl next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Additional exhibition games are scheduled Oct. 9 against the Los Angeles Lazers at the Forum, and Oct. 26 against the Tacoma Stars at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

The Sockers announced that they have signed a contract with Prime Ticket to televise 17 games this season. The first game will be Nov. 18 against the Lazers at 7:30 p.m.

Bill Macdonald, the Lazers’ radio announcer, will be the color analyst for 13 of the 17 games. Randy Hahn will do the play-by-play for 14 of the games. The remaining three are against the Lazers and their play-by-play announcer will work those games.

The Leukemia Coronado Bridge 6.5-mile race will be held Sunday at 7:45 a.m. The field is limited to 6,000 runners, and places are still available. Entry fee is $7.50. All proceeds benefit the Leukemia Society. More than $75,000 was raised last year. For more information, call the society at 283-6131.

The San Diego State men’s and women’s cross-country teams will play host to the 45th annual Aztec Invitational on Saturday at Balboa Park.

The men’s field includes the University of Arizona, which has won the last four years. About 20 teams are expected in the 10,000-meter race, which begins at 9:15 a.m.

UC Irvine is the heavy favorite among the women’s teams. The 5,000-meter race begins at 8:30 a.m.

Tickets are still available for the hockey game between Team USA and the Los Angeles Kings at the San Diego Sports Arena on Oct. 3.

They are available at the Sports Arena Box Office, Mad Jack’s stores and May Company stores. Prices are $15, $12 and $7.50 with a $2.50 discount for those age 16 and under. Group packages are available by calling 224-3613. To order by credit card, call 232-0800.

The Supreme Court Basketball Development Program will hold a series of four-week basketball clinics for boys and girls in grades 9-12. The first will be Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. Clinics will begin every four weeks after that until April 16. The cost is $40 per player with discounts for teams. For more information, call 265-9185.