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June 5, 2007

VALVANO: Going pro not just for kicks

BY BOB VALVANO

You are never too old to learn — or be impressed — but especially to learn.

As you may remember, I mentioned a few columns ago that I was scheduled to attempt an actual extra point in an Arena League Football game. With my morning radio partner, former NFL lineman Will Wolford, we suited up a couple of weeks back for one game for the team Will owns, the Louisville Fire, against the Alabama Steeldogs at Freedom Hall.

At a team meeting the day before we were scheduled to start practicing with the team, Will mentioned to the Fire players what was about to happen. I learned a wonderful thing. That even athletes playing in the minor professional leagues have tremendous pride in what they do. They were not happy. They claimed Will and I were making a joke of their game and they let us know that.

Will and I met with them. The players were so upset, Will thought about telling them I had kicked in high school (which was not true.) Instead, he told them the truth, that while I had not played football, I was a soccer player in college, and I had been kicking diligently for about four months in preparation for this opportunity (which was true.)

In addition, we were going to be at every practice in the lead up to the game, and work very hard, which we did. We did all the warm-up drills, and dressed in pads and helmets, with Will even running the stadium steps at old Cardinal stadium, which was impressive in itself.

I told the players it was anything but a joke to me, and I considered it a great honor to be included among them for even a week. I wished them well in advancing beyond the AF2 league they were in — to the bigger Arena League, the Canadian Football League, or even the NFL.

I told them what I really felt: To play in the Arena2 league such as they do is an amazing achievement, and I consider them elite athletes. It had always been my dream, like most little boys, to play professionally and while I played three sports in college, I never played as a pro. To play with them literally was a dream come true for me, and I was going to try as hard as I could to prepare, even if it was for just one play.

I learned then that honesty is the best policy.

From that day, they welcomed Will and I, and made the experience a great one, but honoring me, and allowing me to honor them, in the most meaningful way I know — by being “teammates.”

During the week, I learned about the extraordinary young men who play on this team, and their amazing coach Tommy Johnson. Tommy never swears and rarely raises his voice, but demands excellence from everyone, and the players respond to his every word. I learned about quiet passion from the coach, and great commitment from the players, many of whom have other full time jobs, but still get to practice and bust their tails each day, with a positive energy that is exceptional.

I learned that competition is alive and well in this country, and in the Arena2 league. Alabama was less than impressed with the fact that Will and I were about to take the field against them, and they came out in a fury, sacking our quarterback on the first play, and hitting with a ferocity that clearly meant business.

But I learned that when you have a great attitude, as our guys did all week in practice, a leader you believe in, which we had in Coach Johnson, and a toughness that says if you get hit in the mouth, you better stand up and smack them twice as hard right back, then you can have great success.

The lessons in that success, I will share with you next week.

I will tell you about the kicks — yes, kicks. There wound up being two of them, share a couple of funny stories, but tell you why this event which started out as a charity event to raise money for the Will Power Foundation and the V Foundation (as well as a promotional event for our show and the team), turned out, for me at least, to be so much more, and an experience rich with lessons from which we can all learn.

See you next week.

Bob Valvano lives in Sellersburg and can be reached via e-mail at bobvshow@yahoo.com. He is a former college basketball coach and current radio show host on ESPN Radio.

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