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+---- Thread: *The Journey So Far: A Prospect's Perspective (/showthread.php?tid=24672)
*The Journey So Far: A Prospect's Perspective - Vainknight13 - 08-03-2020
The Journey So Far: A Prospect's Perspective
So far the lead up and off-season, to the DSFL had been nothing but one giant adventure. Every little thing, every interaction has only served to grow the hype and build the anticipation that I feel for my eventual debut in the league. Overwhelmingly positive is the only way it feels right to describe it. Despite the nervousness I feel, the anxiety i get every time I go to read a mock draft and the butterflies I constantly have over the thoughts of figuring out where I will end up, it has been a net positive introduction to my life. To think I wasn't even sure if I wanted to play at one point in my life seems like only a distant memory or a passing fancy of doubt, as I now wake up and begin interacting with veterans and rookies alike.
The other rookies have probably been one of the biggest positive aspects of this whole period of my life. Endless hours of interactions in the locker rooms, endless conversations league related or otherwise. I would love to point out my favorites, but I would hate to leave someone out. All i can really say is i have enjoyed the company of my peers so much that I'm saddened by the thought we will undoubtedly be split up among several different teams. Who knows maybe one day we will meet up when we are all superstars in the isfl, but for now our friendships will get to change and grow into rivalries, hopefully as positive as our interactions have been. There are several people out there that if they go off in the league harder than I do, I don't think I would be disappointed one bit, their inevitable success will only push me to strive to achieve more and I can only see us all being amazingly positive impacts on each other's lives and careers.
The veterans of the league are a constant presence. I have not turned to any of these people and been turned away. Every single time I have reached out for help and just needed someone to talk to at night long after I was the last one awake in my home I found one of these guys. The times I needed help it became almost predictable, I would get one of two responses, " here's what you need to do" or " here's who you need to talk to." Never in my life have I been surrounded by such a helpful environment. It is like the entire league is invested in your personal success and wants nothing more than for you to achieve the highest of goals you have set for yourself.
The league itself. The organization and presentation always seem to fulfill and exceed all of my expectations. The presentation is top notch and you can tell they have a great commitment and spare no expense towards putting out solid material. The games are fun to watch, the community is amazing, the leadership is omnipresent and always ready to move on to the next step of what appears to be constant improvement and neverending work towards the goal of a perfect league.
The scouting has been a blast. While it wasn't that long ago that the first scout messaged me,I have since been contacted by every team. I can't speak for anyone else, but for me it never got old. I almost wish I could talk to them all again, each one with their own unique questions, trying to get a read on who I am as a person as opposed to just what I can offer as a player. I spent a good amount of time talking to the scouts and enjoyed the opportunity to do so. Many of these conversations went off the beaten path and talked about much more personal things than the standard, goals and are you willing to switch positions conversations. I've got to say I can't predict the future I don't think there is a "wrong" team to be drafted by. Wherever I end up in the draft is going to get exactly what I have attempted to show to the world. A hard working team mate that wants more than personal success and wants to be part of a culture of winning to see their team reach the highest level.
The mock drafts were the most up and down rollercoaster of emotions for me since I've been in the league. I'm constantly looking for new information, reading all the media I can to really understand my peers and the league in general. It's a constant flux of information but that itself has been one of the more personally enjoyable parts, until the mock drafts started flowing in. The first one I read was devastating to my ego. Arbitrarily placing me last for my position with no reasoning or explanation, just numbers on the screen, mocking me in a way I can't describe. Perhaps I've whined quite a bit since then, but several more arbitrarily designed mock drafts had similar sentiments, I was beginning to wonder what I had done and who I had offended to hurt my draft stock so much, it was difficult to tell myself that these mean nothing, the real scouts and teams know what I'm worth more than these guys who rank people based on how cool their name is, but it's what I had to do and I had to work twice as harder to prove that my complaining wasn't a lazy way of trying to get my name out there. None of this is easy, I've put a ton of work in and I want to be noticed and if I have to work even harder to do so, I will and I have! The latest movk drafts coming out are more telling. Massive pieces, well designed hitting all major prospects, all with. All due recognition. It is easy to see these being legitimate fortune telling pieces on how they know the future. Looking like whole sports journals instead of one off articles their scope is amazing, and while of course they don't have me at first overall they at least realistically weighed my merits against team needs, and the entire thing was exciting, and even though my two ffavorites had me now here close to the first round I can't argue with them. They are well researched and now I feel like someone has given me reliable feedback. Maybe my name isn't as cool as Goat Tank's but I know I'm going to be a productive member of a team, very soon and I feel like I've gotten some recognition towards that.
The Prospect Bowl, this is it, my last real chance to show what I'm made of. I'm going to be a part of the Tiburon Landsharks and it's going to be an exciting precursor to the draft and actual season. Whoever thought of the concept of the prospect bowl deserves some kind of award, give us something to look forward to other than the draft. I can't wait to be in there playing again, I'm excited to see where it takes me, maybe I can put up some impressive stats and make my draft stock soar?
The draft, I guess we aren't here yet, but the league has done such a great job of building the hype. The long slow buildup of getting everything ready and into place, I know for a fact all of us rookies would just about kill for a leak of some sort. As it stands now, each day is a new black x on the calendar. Counting down they days, minutes and hours all the time. My girlfriend is tired of hearing about it already, but I'm not tired of talking about it, until I know how it all plays out I'm going to be chomping at the bit ready to move on to the next level.