It is, quite literally, the stuff of Hollywood. The overlooked athlete, shunned, ignored or never noticed by the big professional leagues, discovering a lottery ticket of sorts by being granted a team tryout.

In Major League Baseball, it was, “The Rookie,” the story of pitcher Jim Morris, a left-hander who, at age 35, secured a tryout with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999 and impressed scouts enough that he signed a Minor League Contract and appeared in 21 Major League games over two seasons.

NFL fans have their own walk-on hero, Vince Papale, whose quest to make the roster of the Philadelphia Eagles in the mid-1970s is chronicled in the Mark Wahlberg film, “Invincible.”

In real life, Orange County Soccer Club has its own field of dreams.

Registration is now open for OCSC’s open tryouts this Saturday and Sunday from 9am - 1 pm at Orange County Great Park Soccer Complex. Orange County Soccer Club, which finished another strong season in the USL Championship in 2019, is looking for skilled players interested in future consideration.

The tryouts are an extension of Orange County Soccer Club’s “Pathway to Professionalism,” which encourages talented players in the Orange County area to pursue their professional dreams at home, under the guidance of OCSC’s elite coaching and training staff.

Online registration is now open for this weekend’s tryouts at orangecountysoccer.com/tryouts, with a fee of $175. In-person registration and payment will be accepted on-site on Saturday at 8:00 am. In-person registration will be $195.00 and participants will be required to complete a waiver form prior to activities.

Participants in this weekend’s tryouts must be men aged between 16-28. The tryouts will consist of each participant playing in three 30-minute games, 11-vs-11, with substitutions. Players will be assessed for technical and tactical skills.

Participants must come prepared for the tryouts with their own boots, socks, shorts, gloves, shin pads and any other equipment specific to their position.

OCSC staff will use their best judgment to form teams randomly accord to players’ preferred positions. Kickoff times will be announced on Saturday during check-in an orientation periods before game play. Tryouts will take place regardless of weather and no refunds will be issued.

Please fill out the registration form completely in order for OCSC to make the best effort to place you in your preferred position(s) and to provide the best experience during your tryout sessions.

For additional information, email at zack@orangecountysoccer.com.