The Trenton Times published the following article on October 27, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Dozens turn out with hopes to score a place on Trenton’s new indoor football team

ROBBINSVILLE — They came from Mercer County, from Brooklyn, N.Y., from Pennsylvania, and as far away as Massachusetts.

They played college football at Rutgers University, at Dartmouth, at Marietta College (in Ohio), and at The College of New Jersey. Some had played just high school football.

Their jobs included a high school history teacher with a daughter in college, a fitness model, an auto parts salesman, a health-care support technician and a 23-year-old in the National Guard.

Yesterday they were among 85 guys trying to impress the staff of the Trenton Freedom, a new team in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).

Wearing team T-shirts, the candidates each paid $60 to run a 40-yard dash, shuttle agility drills, and be measured on their vertical leap and broad jump.

The drills weren’t so much to determine who would sign contracts as they were for coaches to gather information to assess candidates. Another tryout is scheduled for January, and a kickers-only tryout will take place sometime next month.

Head coach Kevin O’Hanlon said 317 men pre-registered, including people from as far away as Florida and Texas. The 85 who showed up at the Robbinsville Fieldhouse (just off Route 195) was actually a much more workable number, O’Hanlon said.

The PIFL currently consists of eight teams, but could expand to as many as 10 when the season commences in early spring.

The teams are allowed 40 players at the opening of camp. The guess is all 85 intend to make it.