First Ten Players Confirmed to the US Quidditch National Squad
The US national team may be transforming for the 2018–20 season, but some familiar faces will be returning to the pitch. Head coach Michael Parada has selected ten players from the previous national team to join the standing squad immediately without the need to attend a tryout.
The ten selected players are Jayke Archibald, Julia Baer, Martin Bermudez, Jr., Kaci Erwin, Bailee Fields, Max Havlin, Jackson Johnson, Augustine Monroe, Tyler Trudeau, and Lulu Xu.
All ten players were part of the 25-person roster chosen to compete at the 2018 International Quidditch Association World Cup, of which Archibald and Erwin chatted with MuggleNet about in an exclusive interview.
Teams from Texas are represented extremely well in this group, with half of the returning players competing with Texan teams: Texas Cavalry, Texas Hill Country Heat, and Texas State University. Boston has also received a good showing, with three players from Quidditch Club Boston and two from the Boston-New York hybrid team, the Bosnyan Bearsharks.
The selected roster is well balanced between positions on the team, with three Keepers, three Chasers, and four Beaters, which will give the team a solid skill base to begin to build on. By retaining these valuable and experienced players, scouts are now able to develop the team from a core foundation and have a standard to set potential new players against.
With a World Cup title to defend and an unmatched international reputation to uphold, the switch to a standing roster should allow the United States to continue to be the gold standard of elite international quidditch by maintaining continuity and building up partnerships between players who compete with different clubs from across the country.
The final decision for the 2019 standing roster will conclude in April, giving interested players plenty of time to hone their skills and prove their worth to the team. The standing squad will have no max cap on player numbers, giving a greater number of players than ever before a chance to experience the elite teachings of the national team!
Interested in joining these ten on the standing roster? With the first open tryouts in December, be sure to check out all of the information you may need for the chance to represent the US on the world stage!
