LANCASTER RATTLERS: RATTLERS TO GIVE SOCCER PLAYERS CHANCE TO SHINE.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News

LANCASTER -- Longtime Antelope Valley youth soccer coach Gerald Brunner was sitting at a local restaurant a few years ago when he realized his server was a familiar face, a former area soccer standout who'd given up the sport after high school and had since put on about 60 pounds.

The scenario is not uncommon. Soccer players who are unable to maintain college eligibility often have to give up organized competition when they get too old to play club ball after age 18.

Brunner believes his newly formed Lancaster Rattlers -- a semiprofessional Premiere Development League team that exists under the Major League Soccer umbrella -- will give such area athletes an alternative venue they've never had.

``Just because a kid can't be a great student doesn't mean he can't be a great athlete,'' said Brunner, the team's owner and general manager. ``I just hate to see great talent go to waste. That's what motivated me to do this.''

The competitive juices start flowing today, with the first official tryouts for the 2007 season at Lancaster National Soccer Center.

Brunner said he expects to whittle a group of about 50 to 60 area players to about 25 at the four-day tryouts, which conclude Sunday.

The Rattlers will carry 23 players on their competitive A team -- of which just the 18 eligible players will travel -- and about 11 on a B team that will essentially function as a workout group the A team can draw from as the season progresses.

Registration for tryouts opens today at 3 p.m. at the soccer center, on Avenue L at 30th Street East. The cost of registration is $75.

Tryouts will be held today and Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Players will have another chance to try out sometime after the college season in January, Brunner said.

The Premiere Development League's semipro status allows players to compete amid a professional environment while maintaining their amateur status, meaning they can still compete at the college level.

For the aspiring professional soccer players, the stakes couldn't be bigger.

Last season, the 60-team league sent 60 players to Major League Soccer, and countless others to the professional ranks in the United Soccer Leagues' Div. I and II, and Europe.

The Rattlers will play an 18-game regular-season schedule in the 10-team Western Conference, which includes teams from San Francisco to San Diego. Their season begins in late April and concludes at the end of July.

The conference championship games, which will be played in early August, will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel.

``(The Antelope Valley) is a soccer hub, and for the gifted athletes in this valley, this is the greatest opportunity ever,'' Brunner said.

The Rattlers are in negotiations to use Antelope Valley High School's planned new field, a state-of-the-art multi-use facility that will feature soft turf, a press box and concessions.

Most games will be played on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Brunner said the Rattlers will bring family-oriented entertainment with the added draw of giving fans an opportunity ``to watch their own stars compete on a professional stage.''

Among those who are trying out for the Rattlers is Brunner's son Zach (Lancaster High), who played soccer at Moorpark College and Brewton Parker College (Mount Vernon, Ga.).

``It'd be a great opportunity,'' Zack Brunner said. ``Players are getting called from the PDL (to the USL and MLS) all the time, so this is just one step closer to playing professionally.''

Brunner said the Rattlers will play exhibition games against the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA at dates and sites to be determined. Playing in the PDL will give players an opportunity to be seen by professional MLS and USL scouts, he said.

``Anything like this on a resume is good for the players,'' Brunner said. ``It's going to give players an opportunity to develop their talent on a professional stage.''

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