AC Connecticut, the state’s only Premier Development League (PDL) soccer team, will hold its first round of open tryouts for the 2015 season, from noon to 2 pm on Friday, January 16, at NYA Sports & Fitness Center, 4 Primrose Street.

There is a $35 tryout fee which will cover an AC Connecticut trial t-shirt as well as supplemental training sessions. To register, visit http://bit.ly/1tOKZDt. Following registration, all players will be sent a registration form via e-mail and are required to bring the completed form to the tryout. All players must register in advance; walk-ins will not be allowed to participate.

AC Connecticut will play a 14-game schedule from May through August. The PDL, a U23 men’s league for college-age players, is the top supplier of talent for professional soccer in North America.

AC Connecticut players have been called to participate in a New England Revolution reserve team match and others have signed professional contracts after their time with the club. AC Connecticut finished the 2014 PDL season with a franchise best 10-3-3 record including a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

AC Connecticut joined the United Soccer League’s PDL for the 2012 season, becoming the only soccer franchise based in Connecticut. Along with a men’s PDL team, AC Connecticut works closely with local travel programs and focuses on the technical, tactical, physical, and psychosocial components of the game to improve its players.

The 2014 PDL featured 64 teams within four conferences throughout the United States and Canada, including 12 teams affiliated with professional soccer clubs, including Major League Soccer teams. The PDL has proven to be an important stepping-stone for top professionals now playing throughout the world, with 70 percent of all Major League Soccer draftees having PDL experience.