Josh Coxon Kelly previews the A Tour for Open Tour 1. 

The 2015 Open Tour season sees the entrance of multiple non-club squads, as teams and coaches prepare for international tournaments at the Senior, Masters and U23 levels. These teams themselves are unknown quantities that could be cohesive units of all-stars, and just as easily dramatic coaching experiments as team managers have the option of using the strong domestic scene either as a proving ground to test ideas, grow new connections or simply as reliable competition in the lead up to the season peak. Playing for their national team will imbue these players with a sense of pride, but this lift will be equally seated with the weight carried by pressure to live up to their newly earned accolades. As well as the new teams that these squads present, the international tournament year will have an extended effect by removing many players from the club teams that make up the traditional names of Open Tour. Naturally, the conscripted players often hold prominent positions in the clubs they are leaving whether as leaders, playmakers, tactical advisors or a combination of all of these roles. As such all teams will be learning on the pitch as they play, as selected representatives forge on-pitch bonds, and newer and less experienced players answer their club’s call to step up.