Avengers to face changes

Change will be in order for the Avengers when they begin a three-week training camp for the 2007 season today in San Jacinto.

For the first time since their inaugural season, the Avengers will hold training camp outside the Los Angeles area when they start practice at Oak Stadium on the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Reservation.

And, for the first time since Coach Ed Hodgkiss took over in 2002, the Avengers will open camp after a losing season that did not include a trip to the playoffs.

“We believe that moving our training camp out of Los Angeles will increase our ability to focus and prepare for the upcoming season,” Hodgkiss said. “In addition, the facilities on the reservation are top-notch and we are really looking forward to the three weeks that we will be spending out there.”

On the field, things will also be a little different for the Avengers, who will have a new-look roster thanks to new Arena Football League rules that allow free substitution.

Previously, teams were limited to one substitution per position per quarter, but starting this season, coaches are permitted to substitute players at will. The new substitution rule will allow teams to keep more position specialists on the roster and limit the number of “two-way” players.

“It’s been a long off-season, and we can’t wait to get back on the field.... With the change in the substitution rules, we’ve added a lot of new players to our roster. There’s going to be a lot of talent out there, and it’ll be very competitive,” Hodgkiss said.

With experienced defensive backs now a premium in the AFL, the Avengers signed several players for their secondary, including former UCLA safety Tod McBride.

McBride, a former defensive back with Green Bay, Atlanta and St. Louis, has played in 75 NFL regular-season games, which is more than any player the Avengers have ever had on their active roster.

But by adding players such as McBride, the team has not re-signed free-agent veteran Greg Hopkins, a cornerstone two-way player for the Avengers since 2002.

Hopkins, who failed in an effort to win a seat in Congress in Pennsylvania in November, recently had shoulder surgery and still isn’t signed.

The Avengers will scrimmage at Arizona on Feb. 15 and at Dallas on Feb. 23 before they open the regular season against San Jose at Staples Center on March 4.

lonnie.white@latimes.com