Thrown to the Wolves

These pictures are from the scrimmage, that I just found a way to be in...

The last two days at work have been very, experiential, to say the least.

Yesterday, we had our inter-squad scrimmage yesterday, which was held at the stadium and free to the public. Since it was free to attend, the team didn't employ anybody to work the game- such as referees. One of the assignments that are normally occupied for regular games, but wasn't yesterday, was the chain gang. So guess who got to be a part of that yesterday? You got it- myself (along with two other guys). This was my first time doing chain gang for any type of football. If you are unfamiliar with football, the chain gang are the three bright orange marker sticks on the sideline that determine where the original line of scrimmage, current line of scrimmage and first down are. And, if you are unfamiliar with the arena league, 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall walls surround the playing field, meaning there are no "out of bounds." If you are thinking to yourself right now, "so where do the chain gang workers stand?" that is a very valid question. In arena football, each marker stick has an "anchor" tied by a rope to the stick. When the stick is in place, the "anchor" is thrown over the wall holding the stick in place. Now comes the tricky part. I had to go ten yards down field to place my marker stick. Once I had it set, I had to run back behind the offense before the play was called. For the majority of the time, I was already behind the offense by the time they were leaving their huddle. However, one time I had just set the marker when I heard the QB signal to the motion man to start. I instantly knew I had less than two seconds to get back. Those two seconds quickly turned into a fraction of a second as I heard the play beginning. I continue to sprint back when I see a receiver come straight towards me. I think to myself that the ball will not be thrown in my direction. I was 100% wrong. I see that ball come towards me, so I continue to run along the wall while ducking. I did not notice at the time, but after watching the film, I was less than two yards away from the defender hitting the receiver into the wall. Two professional athletes wearing pads sandwiching me, without any pads, with the wall definitely would not have felt good. However, I escaped the rest of the game unscathed and not running for my life anymore.

The second time I was thrown to the pack of wolves happened today. My boss called myself along with two other guys into his office and explained that our team had to keep in contact with free agents to determine if that player was still an option. He then told us things to talk about with the player, told us to get our phones out while he started to give us players' numbers. Then, one by one we had to call the players and talk to them to determine possibilities. This was definitely a learning experience as none of us had heard it being done prior to that meeting. We definitely were able to get some practical experience in the player personnel side of football today.

Well, I hope you were able to enjoy this post and have a little bit more understanding of how both the playing side and personnel side work for football. Have a great week.

Adam

Big Mistake?

I think I had made my biggest mistake ever, today. I went to Wal-Mart after work to get some things, and as I was walking out, a girl scout stopped me and asked if I wanted to buy any cookies from her. Because I'm trying not to spend any money I don't need to, and cookies are not a need, I turned her down. Then, things turned bad. She didn't say she hated me, or start crying or say she wasn't going to receive a girl scout badge all because of me. However, I was wearing a Rattlers shirt since I had just come from work, and she pointed at my shirt and said "I LOVE the Arizona Rattlers!" Let me tell you, it took everything I had to not whip out my wallet and hand her all the cash inside and ask how many boxes that will buy. It's similar to when one of your parents said to you "I'm not mad at you, I'm just disappointed in you." You might as well just toss a dagger straight to the heart, because that's how it feels. I got out of there so fast, I thought I was the one getting the conditioning test today, not the players.

Anyways, besides being completely out-classed by an 8 year old outside of Wal-Mart, I've had a pretty busy, but good, week. All of the players arrived on Friday, and yesterday was their first time (of the season) to the fieldhouse. When the players were arriving to the hotel to report for training camp, I was to make sure they got the correct paperwork done. There were about 5 of us helping, when one of the other workers said he thinks he sees our kicker at the check-in desk because he notices a Chicago Bears hat. And just to let you know, our kicker is the brother of the Chicago Bears kicker, which is why the inference was made. I went to go get my water bottle when I looked over to see our kicker, who was facing away from us towards the desk. I thought to myself that he didn't have the body type of a kicker, especially coming from a family of kickers. Matt, who was bringing the players over to us started walking towards him as the person in the Bears cap turned away from the desk. Just then, I realized that this was some 45-50 year old guy. Matt realized this at the last second and managed to not say anything, although he wasn't able to refrain from making it seem awkward for everybody.

Yesterday, when the players were arriving at the fieldhouse, I had to get their height, weight, arm and hand length. And just like typical athletes, these guys had to find out what their friends measured in at and gloat about it. The QB (last year's league MVP) had the biggest hands, and I kept hearing him talk about it in the locker room. About every other person that got measured, he would come ask me if he still had the biggest hands.

Today, I had to operate the film study for the defensive line coach. I enjoyed this because not only is it the position I played, but I am using a software that a majority of the NFL teams use, which would give me a huge advantage in the future. After the positional meetings, everybody went outside for the conditioning tests. They didn't even have pads on, and this really made me miss football. I've been to plenty of games since I played, but I think this was the closest thing to a practice I've been to since I played in high school.

Well, I woke up this morning at 5:20 and have to wake up tomorrow at 6, so I can work 7am to 8pm, so goodnight, and have a great week.

Adam

Moving Time

It's been a pretty busy week for me. I've been trying to get part of a long-term project done before a deadline, while working on other short term projects, getting ready for training camp to start and finding a place to live. Which is what I was able to do. Tomorrow morning, I'll be moving into my apartment which isn't too far from where I currently am, and is still about 10-15 minutes away from work, which is fantastic. Thursday, I was given the task to make sure all of the playbooks were put together. With some help, I think we got all 38 players done within an hour and a half. On Friday, myself and another guy proposed our first project to one of the coaches. He really liked it and gave some insightful suggestions while saying the project will definitely help him and other coaches throughout the season. I will definitely be very busy this season, which will make it even more fun when the time comes (right after training camp) for me to find another job. I've got some ideas in my mind that I may be checking out this week if I ever get time. In the middle of next week, I get to cross of two more NBA teams off my checklist of teams to see. A co-worker has a connection and got some suite tickets to the Phoenix Suns vs. Atlanta Hawks game this coming Wednesday. I am pretty excited about that. He also told me that he may be able to get some Chicago Cubs spring training games for me. I definitely told him I am interested. Speaking of the Cubs, they have been staying at my hotel. Due to my hotel not having a lobby and me not being a stalker, I have not seen any of them. However, I have noticed their charter bus parked in the lot. Meanwhile, a Southwest commercial just informed me that there is now a nonstop flight from Phoenix to Atlanta. They didn't say a price and I can't think of a reason to go to Atlanta, so I am not sure if I'll take them up on that offer. Anyways, it's about that time to go to sleep, so I hope everybody has a great week.

Adam

Mesa, Arizona

I'm sure you know by now, but I now work for the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League in Mesa, Arizona as a scouting intern. I got to Mesa on Tuesday, January 31, and started working the next day. I absolutely love my job so far, and I have only gone in 3 days so far. The guy who hired me, David, is so incredibly knowledgeable, I really don't think I could work under anybody better. He spent quite a few years in the NFL, and wants to run this AFL team as if it were an NFL team. I feel like I will be able to be involved in more here than if I were in the same position on an NFL team. The team has such a small staff that I can be involved in every aspect possible instead of just one department for an NFL franchise. David has already given me projects to work on, and has given me freedom to think of ways to improve those projects. We have all been given confidentiality talks, meaning we will be involved in some pretty important things that interns for NFL teams would not be given access to. So, if you ever ask me a question, don't be offended if I tell you that I can't say. My hours are completely unconventional. Some days, like today, I will work from 9am to 12:30pm. Other days, I will work from 6am to 8pm. It changes daily. All in all, I am having a great time here in Arizona. Last year, the Rattlers made it to the Arena Bowl (The Super Bowl of the AFL) and lost. I fully expect to make it back and win it this year. The only bad thing about being here is that I haven't found an apartment, although I am looking. I will try my best to keep you updated whenever anything out of the ordinary happens.

Adam