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Howard Cornfield still remembers fondly his time in the Quad-Cities.

So when the former QC Mallards owner, president and general manager decided to help the new USL soccer club Austin Bold FC, Cornfield made sure that one of the tryout points would be in the QCs.

More than 80 prospects will tryout today and Sunday at Bettendorf’s TBK Bank Sports Complex with hopes of making their way to Austin, Texas, for further tryouts before the team is named in January.

“The staff talked about tryouts in Texas, Miami and New York, and when I mentioned Bettendorf, they looked at me really odd,” Cornfield said.

However, after doing some research, Austin Bold coach Marcelo Serrano was sold.

“The Iowa area is stocked with great soccer players,” he said. “We set the limit for our training camp at 80, and we were sold out last week. We may have a few more there this weekend.”

Serrano will start his 15th season as a coach and is excited for a new start.

“This is a great project,” he said. “We are doing it the right way. There are so many positives, such as a new challenge and knowing Howard Cornfield is a winner. The biggest worry is starting from scratch.”