CRUSH HOLD COMBINE AS FREE AGENCY PERIOD CONTINUES

It is bound to be a busy offseason for the Colorado Crush and on Monday things finally got underway in Denver.

Head Coach Mike Dailey welcomed around 30 athletes to participate in an invite-only tryout/combine workout with the team. Dailey and his newly appointed assistant coaches got their first real look at the newest batch of talent that could help Colorado in the 2009 season.

Several current AFL free agents and former NFL players were among the group as they were tested in combine-style workouts at Crush headquarters.

"We had a real good group of athletes out there today," Dailey said. "Everybody who showed was really professional and we were pleased with the effort."

With the AFL free agency signing period temporarily put on hold, teams and coaches are biding their time by actively pursuing potential leads with these types of tryouts. The Crush will hold another invite-only tryout in Maryland later this month before their annual open combine/tryout on January 18th of next year.

Dailey, who enters his 13th season as a head coach in the AFL (sixth in Colorado), said the delay feels reminiscent of recruiting in the college game because of the ongoing enticement of players.

"All of us are kind of used to having a set schedule when it comes to the signing period, so having it pushed back puts us into a position where we are calling guys all the time," Dailey said.

"It puts us all on a level playing field, but we are prepared to make the move on our targeted athletes as soon as the league lets us know."

The tryout also saw the debut of new Crush assistant coaches Tommy Johnson and Chris MacKeown. Johnson will take over the defensive coordinator position and MacKeown will take his shot with the offense in 2009.

"I was really impressed with the way each of the coaches carried themselves today," Dailey said. "Both coach Johnson and coach MacKeown have head coaching experience and you could tell that they have a firm grasp of instruction and discipline."