Door County Destroyers Holding Open Tryouts Jan. 19

Door County’s new semi-pro football team, the Door County Destroyers, is looking for some able-bodied recruits to help carry them to the Wisconsin State Football League (WSFL) championship in Nov.

Tryouts for the Destroyers will be held on Jan. 19 at the Sturgeon Bay YMCA, with registration at 5:30 pm and the actual tryouts starting at 6:00 pm. Destroyers co-owner Ryan Zuehlke said anyone who’s interested in giving semi-pro football a go is encouraged to come to the tryout.

“We’re hoping to have at least 50 guys come out on Saturday,” said Zuehlke. “We can suit 53 guys per game and have as many on the team as we want. But you usually get down to a working 40 guys that are consistent that want to come play.”

The tryouts will be an NFL-style test that includes a 40-yard dash, agility drill, broad jump, and vertical jump. After the individual trials, players will be separated into position groups before coming back together to run through plays as a team.

“At the end we’re gonna bring the whole team together and just kind of work everybody through and kinda see if it can flow,” said Zuehlke.

Zuehlke said the team isn’t planning on cutting any players, instead focusing on shifting people to positions where they can be successful. With the new additions tacked on to the core group that Zuehlke and his fellow owners Shane Hill and Chris LeCloux brought with them from their previous years in the WSFL, the Destroyers should be a formidable force in the league.

“Success to us is to have a better than .500 season, but that’s just what we’re saying on paper,” said Zuehlke.

The Destroyers will find out if they’re application to join the WSFL has been accepted later this month. If it is, the team will play a ten game season that starts in late July, with home games hosted at the Baileys Harbor Recreational Park.