Proving Ground: Life in the DSFL
Season 1 : Episode 1 S1E01
Zed Keppler has granted an unprecedented level of access to HOBO Sports to film and chronicle the life of a budding athlete trying to make his mark on professional football.
As the seconds ticked down and the last whistles blew Zed look toward the scoreboard. The bounce-back Pythons fell short and going one and done in the playoffs. Their goal for ultimate supremacy of the DSFL will have to wait for another year.
“It doesn't make it any easier,” Keppler said as he walked off the field when someone said they had a great season. They did have a great season. An improvement of six wins from the previous season. Keppler just finished his rookie season, he was not a part of last year's team that was such a disappointment across the league.
“IT just feels bad to fall short…. Always”
Inside the locker room, it's quiet. It's somber. Not many people we're talking, it's not really a feeling of anger for losing it's more like disappointment. “We just had too many penalties, I know it sounds cliche-ish but we beat ourselves.” The pythons had four turnovers and a number of drive-killing penalties. Uncharacteristic of their late-season run after starting out slow. “ You think you have things going in your direction. A couple of good wins a couple of good solid playing football games and you honestly think you can run the table and get to where you're going.” That sentiment can be heard by a few players in the locker room. They really were playing their best football. Some chalk it up to the sports gods or as they say the sim gods, some chalk it up to just not being their day.
After the final week of the season, the Pythons have their final coach’s meetings and clear out their locker.
The somber mood continues when the pythons return to their home locker room for clear out day. some of these players will not be back next season as they will move up to the NSFL. “ It is the worst part of the business to be honest. But that's what they say every day. It's a business.” As you'll find with most teams you become connected to one another, and Keppler had several great friendships that were separating. “You have to be happy for them though, I mean they're going up to the big leagues getting that big chance to prove themselves at the next level. Make a little more money if I'm being honest, can’t go wrong with that.” Keppler can't get to sidetracked with those that's leaving for the next level. He has a draft to prepare for.
“Every day is work day. A day you don’t work is a day you get left behind.”
There is no off-season in the modern day athletes life. That can't be more evident than in Keppler's life. Just days after having his final coaches meeting and clearing out his locker he is down at X-Ath. A state of the art Institute professional athletes to train and get better. His trainer Dirk Downside, views Keppler as his main project the season. there are 34 days until the NSFL draft and he has to improve his stock as much as he can before his name is called on draft night.
“He's got potential, for sure.” Dirk said of Keppler. “ he's a little raw and that's fine but he's made it this far on his own basically I mean of course he had college coaches and strength and conditioning programs but he's never really been a part of an Elite Training Facility.” Dirk and Keppler first met week two of his rookie season in Portland. He comes highly recommended in the greater Oregon area and his resume speaks for itself. Cowboys rookie season didn't start out as well as he had hoped he didn't even get a touch in the first two games of the season and only played sparingly in the next few before he earned a significant playing role the final eight games.
“That was really hard you know to work your ass off to come into an organization and all you want to do is prove yourself and to be told that you're not just ready yet. it's not the first time that's ever happened to me actually if you look back in high school I wasn't even a running back I was a backup quarterback and starting DB. I looked at coach in the summer after my sophomore season and said I need to be play it on offense whatever you need me to do tell me and he was like I need you to move the running back so I did.” Keppler play his college ball at Delta State in which he was all-conference every season he started the full 12 games. But freshman year he couldn't see the field until week 6. “ same thing at Delta State you know I told Coach I said just let me play whatever needs to happen and he said okay if you can field the punt I'll let you start returning punts and that's how everything started”.
The lack of playing time hurts his draft prospects mainly from the GM's who just look at Stats and don't watch enough tape. So Keppler is already behind the 8-ball when it comes to impressing new teams. It was with Dirks help that Keppler was able to finally get on the field at Portland. Since then Dirk has had Keppler's utmost faith and attention. Which Keppler has had to lean on because some of Dirks methods are unconventional and old-school as some people call it these days.
15 days until the draft. The hardest training day yet, the Suicide Hill, looms hard for Keppler and the other Athletes Training at X-Ath.
“It's pretty much the worst day of your life. I had a brother who's a State Trooper in Texas and a Suicide Hill is very similar to when they get sprayed with pepper spray to pass the academy.” Keppler has had the day circled. as they are just over two weeks until the draft he knows every second of work he puts in will pay off. The thing he needs to work on the most to separate himself from others is his hands and his speed. He wants to be a three-down back and in order to do that you can't have any weaknesses on third and long and you have to start fast on first and 10.
“It's basically to build speed,” Dirk said. “It's the best a Both Worlds, it tests your strength while improving your speed. It also tells you a lot about the player how many times they do it.” The drill consists of two phases. Phase one is to run up a steep incline about 25 yards. At the top there are 5 1 gallon buckets. At the bottom of the hill there is one five gallon bucket per athlete. The first one to fill up the bucket at the bottom wins. The last one remaining has to do the entire drill from start to finish while everybody gets to rest.
“Oh hell no you do not want to be last.” Keppler said. “Have you ever been last?’ I asked. Keppler Shrugged and gave me a smirk. But he didn't answer. "But have you?" I doubled down. "What do you think, " Keppler answered again with that same smirk he had the first time. Six of them ran the suicide Hill that day, Keppler was not last. But he wasn't first either. That distinction went to a very outspoken cornerback who's also a Python teammate looking to improve his draft stock as well.
I asked Dirk if Keppler ever has come in last on the suicide Hill. "One time, yes, he did,” Dirk said laughing. “I don't think he ever will again though.” Dirk went on to tell me the first time that they ran to the drill Keppler rushed his technique coming down the hill holding the water spilling his fourth bucket. After that it was over. he finished the Run and then had one minute to rest before he had to run the entire drill over again. “I think he vomited for about 2 hours straight that afternoon,” said Dirk.
Keppler is usually at the facility for about 12 hours a day in the days leading up to the draft. he's usually there by 5:45 in the morning. “If you're there at 6 you're late, and you don't want to start off late with Dirk.” the athletes train together. The morning is usually an intense weight training exercise split up into body splits like most of your average Joe at the gym down the street but here each exercise has its own Target, its own plan to help you get bigger stronger faster. From there each player does about 2 hours of classwork / tape review. and in the coming days right before the draft they'll be about an hour and a half to two hours of interview roleplay. you can be as talented as an athlete as there is out there, but if you are a numbskull they will weed you out very quick. “Are you worried about the interview? "I asked. “Not really, I mean I've always been able to handle myself pretty good. I'm a people person, I like to think I don't get in trouble all that often or at least that nobody knows about,”. Keppler gives his now famous smirk. but there are questions out there that are specifically designed to trip up a candidate and Dirk has been around the block long enough he knows the people that ask those types of questions and he has some of those questions for the athletes.
In the weight room it's always competition. Even with Elite athletes there's always a competition to see who's better, who's faster, who's strongest. The cornerback, Keppler’s Python teammate, challenges him to do the bench test on a whim. They worked out chest yesterday. he could probably beat him but at what cost, you don't want to throw away your training regimen for a little bet. “honestly I know I could take him,” Keppler said. “ You have to have your eyes on a bigger prize though, you can't get caught up. It's not about who is better in here it's not about who you're better than outside, it's about working on yourself from the inside. If you focus on being the best you can be everyday the best part of you everyday all that will come together and you'll develop into something that other people will want to be better than no matter what”.
“Be the best possible version of yourself every day. Every single day”
That's not a mantra that Keppler takes lightly. He truly looks within to be the best he can be. “ I know it sounds like an Army commercial, but I'm telling you if all you worry about is getting better for yourself all the other things will fall into place.” Sometimes Keppler spits out things that sound like they came out of a fortune cookie or maybe out of some random Chinese proverb book.
“It's something my mama taught me growing up, it's something my grandfather told me every day. growing up in Mississippi there's not much you can do, there's not a whole lot of trouble you can get caught up in so a lot of times I focused on myself.” This isn't the part where I tell you that he grew up on a farm one of seven kids milking the cows early every morning. He didn't even have cows or a farm or six brothers or sisters. “ I do get a lot of things thrown at me because I'm from Mississippi. running water no shoes all those types of things, it's okay I've probably heard it all,” Keppler said as he Rambles on about growing up just east of the Mississippi Delta. “A lot of other families had it worse off than we did, for sure. But it really wasn't easy for us either. I grew up where my nearest neighbor was a mile direction and every way. we didn't have cable Hell I grew up some Summers I didn't even have air conditioning.” he then asked me if I knew how hot it got in Mississippi. “But you know what it wasn't even the heat it’s the damn humidity. Imagine doing two-a-days in 95-degree weather with a hundred percent humidity.”
Portland is very different from the Mississippi or the delta. it's not quite the land of opportunity that other larger market cities are but it does offer a lot for a budding athlete. “Where do you see yourself going,” I asked. He thought about it for a minute, and then maybe another minute passed before he said “ it really doesn't matter. I don't really give a damn. I just want to play. I want to be an environment where they can help me learn I can get better at what I do every day and prove to these guys that I belong.”
All the preparations have been completed. It is the Eve of the draft. Tomorrow will be one of the biggest days of Zed Keppler's life.
“What's done is done. we're pretty much on coasting mode now there's not much I can do.” Keppler said. While he was talking to me it seemed like he was trying to convince himself. I can't imagine the nervousness that must be going through an athlete the day before his life completely changes. It would be like if I wrote my idea down, my elevator pitch, and then sent it out 12 teams and who ever liked it picked me and then that's the city that I lived in. “ Any places you don’t want to go?” I asked. “To the unemployment line,” he joked. Touche. “But really, Chicago. Anywhere but Chicago,” he said. Then I think we both wondered if he just jinxed himself.
The phone rings, it was Dirk from X-Ath. He put the phone on speaker so we could both hear the conversation. “You’re going to be fine. Look, it’s not a death sentence, it’s not even a lottery,” Dirk said. “No matter what happens, you write your own story. If it’s a team you don’t want to go to, show up and show out, and you will get your time in free agency. If you go to a good situation, learn as much as you can. About getting better, about being a pro, and for god’s sake get a good trainer. Because I ain’t moving.”
“The thought of moving does stress me out,” Keppler said. “I like it here, man the weather is great. I have picked up about 10 new hobbies.” Those hobbies, we will get into more in depth later. Right now, for Keppler it’s all about hearing his name called tomorrow.
Season 1 : Episode 1 S1E01
Zed Keppler has granted an unprecedented level of access to HOBO Sports to film and chronicle the life of a budding athlete trying to make his mark on professional football.
As the seconds ticked down and the last whistles blew Zed look toward the scoreboard. The bounce-back Pythons fell short and going one and done in the playoffs. Their goal for ultimate supremacy of the DSFL will have to wait for another year.
“It doesn't make it any easier,” Keppler said as he walked off the field when someone said they had a great season. They did have a great season. An improvement of six wins from the previous season. Keppler just finished his rookie season, he was not a part of last year's team that was such a disappointment across the league.
“IT just feels bad to fall short…. Always”
Inside the locker room, it's quiet. It's somber. Not many people we're talking, it's not really a feeling of anger for losing it's more like disappointment. “We just had too many penalties, I know it sounds cliche-ish but we beat ourselves.” The pythons had four turnovers and a number of drive-killing penalties. Uncharacteristic of their late-season run after starting out slow. “ You think you have things going in your direction. A couple of good wins a couple of good solid playing football games and you honestly think you can run the table and get to where you're going.” That sentiment can be heard by a few players in the locker room. They really were playing their best football. Some chalk it up to the sports gods or as they say the sim gods, some chalk it up to just not being their day.
After the final week of the season, the Pythons have their final coach’s meetings and clear out their locker.
The somber mood continues when the pythons return to their home locker room for clear out day. some of these players will not be back next season as they will move up to the NSFL. “ It is the worst part of the business to be honest. But that's what they say every day. It's a business.” As you'll find with most teams you become connected to one another, and Keppler had several great friendships that were separating. “You have to be happy for them though, I mean they're going up to the big leagues getting that big chance to prove themselves at the next level. Make a little more money if I'm being honest, can’t go wrong with that.” Keppler can't get to sidetracked with those that's leaving for the next level. He has a draft to prepare for.
“Every day is work day. A day you don’t work is a day you get left behind.”
There is no off-season in the modern day athletes life. That can't be more evident than in Keppler's life. Just days after having his final coaches meeting and clearing out his locker he is down at X-Ath. A state of the art Institute professional athletes to train and get better. His trainer Dirk Downside, views Keppler as his main project the season. there are 34 days until the NSFL draft and he has to improve his stock as much as he can before his name is called on draft night.
“He's got potential, for sure.” Dirk said of Keppler. “ he's a little raw and that's fine but he's made it this far on his own basically I mean of course he had college coaches and strength and conditioning programs but he's never really been a part of an Elite Training Facility.” Dirk and Keppler first met week two of his rookie season in Portland. He comes highly recommended in the greater Oregon area and his resume speaks for itself. Cowboys rookie season didn't start out as well as he had hoped he didn't even get a touch in the first two games of the season and only played sparingly in the next few before he earned a significant playing role the final eight games.
“That was really hard you know to work your ass off to come into an organization and all you want to do is prove yourself and to be told that you're not just ready yet. it's not the first time that's ever happened to me actually if you look back in high school I wasn't even a running back I was a backup quarterback and starting DB. I looked at coach in the summer after my sophomore season and said I need to be play it on offense whatever you need me to do tell me and he was like I need you to move the running back so I did.” Keppler play his college ball at Delta State in which he was all-conference every season he started the full 12 games. But freshman year he couldn't see the field until week 6. “ same thing at Delta State you know I told Coach I said just let me play whatever needs to happen and he said okay if you can field the punt I'll let you start returning punts and that's how everything started”.
The lack of playing time hurts his draft prospects mainly from the GM's who just look at Stats and don't watch enough tape. So Keppler is already behind the 8-ball when it comes to impressing new teams. It was with Dirks help that Keppler was able to finally get on the field at Portland. Since then Dirk has had Keppler's utmost faith and attention. Which Keppler has had to lean on because some of Dirks methods are unconventional and old-school as some people call it these days.
15 days until the draft. The hardest training day yet, the Suicide Hill, looms hard for Keppler and the other Athletes Training at X-Ath.
“It's pretty much the worst day of your life. I had a brother who's a State Trooper in Texas and a Suicide Hill is very similar to when they get sprayed with pepper spray to pass the academy.” Keppler has had the day circled. as they are just over two weeks until the draft he knows every second of work he puts in will pay off. The thing he needs to work on the most to separate himself from others is his hands and his speed. He wants to be a three-down back and in order to do that you can't have any weaknesses on third and long and you have to start fast on first and 10.
“It's basically to build speed,” Dirk said. “It's the best a Both Worlds, it tests your strength while improving your speed. It also tells you a lot about the player how many times they do it.” The drill consists of two phases. Phase one is to run up a steep incline about 25 yards. At the top there are 5 1 gallon buckets. At the bottom of the hill there is one five gallon bucket per athlete. The first one to fill up the bucket at the bottom wins. The last one remaining has to do the entire drill from start to finish while everybody gets to rest.
“Oh hell no you do not want to be last.” Keppler said. “Have you ever been last?’ I asked. Keppler Shrugged and gave me a smirk. But he didn't answer. "But have you?" I doubled down. "What do you think, " Keppler answered again with that same smirk he had the first time. Six of them ran the suicide Hill that day, Keppler was not last. But he wasn't first either. That distinction went to a very outspoken cornerback who's also a Python teammate looking to improve his draft stock as well.
I asked Dirk if Keppler ever has come in last on the suicide Hill. "One time, yes, he did,” Dirk said laughing. “I don't think he ever will again though.” Dirk went on to tell me the first time that they ran to the drill Keppler rushed his technique coming down the hill holding the water spilling his fourth bucket. After that it was over. he finished the Run and then had one minute to rest before he had to run the entire drill over again. “I think he vomited for about 2 hours straight that afternoon,” said Dirk.
Keppler is usually at the facility for about 12 hours a day in the days leading up to the draft. he's usually there by 5:45 in the morning. “If you're there at 6 you're late, and you don't want to start off late with Dirk.” the athletes train together. The morning is usually an intense weight training exercise split up into body splits like most of your average Joe at the gym down the street but here each exercise has its own Target, its own plan to help you get bigger stronger faster. From there each player does about 2 hours of classwork / tape review. and in the coming days right before the draft they'll be about an hour and a half to two hours of interview roleplay. you can be as talented as an athlete as there is out there, but if you are a numbskull they will weed you out very quick. “Are you worried about the interview? "I asked. “Not really, I mean I've always been able to handle myself pretty good. I'm a people person, I like to think I don't get in trouble all that often or at least that nobody knows about,”. Keppler gives his now famous smirk. but there are questions out there that are specifically designed to trip up a candidate and Dirk has been around the block long enough he knows the people that ask those types of questions and he has some of those questions for the athletes.
In the weight room it's always competition. Even with Elite athletes there's always a competition to see who's better, who's faster, who's strongest. The cornerback, Keppler’s Python teammate, challenges him to do the bench test on a whim. They worked out chest yesterday. he could probably beat him but at what cost, you don't want to throw away your training regimen for a little bet. “honestly I know I could take him,” Keppler said. “ You have to have your eyes on a bigger prize though, you can't get caught up. It's not about who is better in here it's not about who you're better than outside, it's about working on yourself from the inside. If you focus on being the best you can be everyday the best part of you everyday all that will come together and you'll develop into something that other people will want to be better than no matter what”.
“Be the best possible version of yourself every day. Every single day”
That's not a mantra that Keppler takes lightly. He truly looks within to be the best he can be. “ I know it sounds like an Army commercial, but I'm telling you if all you worry about is getting better for yourself all the other things will fall into place.” Sometimes Keppler spits out things that sound like they came out of a fortune cookie or maybe out of some random Chinese proverb book.
“It's something my mama taught me growing up, it's something my grandfather told me every day. growing up in Mississippi there's not much you can do, there's not a whole lot of trouble you can get caught up in so a lot of times I focused on myself.” This isn't the part where I tell you that he grew up on a farm one of seven kids milking the cows early every morning. He didn't even have cows or a farm or six brothers or sisters. “ I do get a lot of things thrown at me because I'm from Mississippi. running water no shoes all those types of things, it's okay I've probably heard it all,” Keppler said as he Rambles on about growing up just east of the Mississippi Delta. “A lot of other families had it worse off than we did, for sure. But it really wasn't easy for us either. I grew up where my nearest neighbor was a mile direction and every way. we didn't have cable Hell I grew up some Summers I didn't even have air conditioning.” he then asked me if I knew how hot it got in Mississippi. “But you know what it wasn't even the heat it’s the damn humidity. Imagine doing two-a-days in 95-degree weather with a hundred percent humidity.”
Portland is very different from the Mississippi or the delta. it's not quite the land of opportunity that other larger market cities are but it does offer a lot for a budding athlete. “Where do you see yourself going,” I asked. He thought about it for a minute, and then maybe another minute passed before he said “ it really doesn't matter. I don't really give a damn. I just want to play. I want to be an environment where they can help me learn I can get better at what I do every day and prove to these guys that I belong.”
All the preparations have been completed. It is the Eve of the draft. Tomorrow will be one of the biggest days of Zed Keppler's life.
“What's done is done. we're pretty much on coasting mode now there's not much I can do.” Keppler said. While he was talking to me it seemed like he was trying to convince himself. I can't imagine the nervousness that must be going through an athlete the day before his life completely changes. It would be like if I wrote my idea down, my elevator pitch, and then sent it out 12 teams and who ever liked it picked me and then that's the city that I lived in. “ Any places you don’t want to go?” I asked. “To the unemployment line,” he joked. Touche. “But really, Chicago. Anywhere but Chicago,” he said. Then I think we both wondered if he just jinxed himself.
The phone rings, it was Dirk from X-Ath. He put the phone on speaker so we could both hear the conversation. “You’re going to be fine. Look, it’s not a death sentence, it’s not even a lottery,” Dirk said. “No matter what happens, you write your own story. If it’s a team you don’t want to go to, show up and show out, and you will get your time in free agency. If you go to a good situation, learn as much as you can. About getting better, about being a pro, and for god’s sake get a good trainer. Because I ain’t moving.”
“The thought of moving does stress me out,” Keppler said. “I like it here, man the weather is great. I have picked up about 10 new hobbies.” Those hobbies, we will get into more in depth later. Right now, for Keppler it’s all about hearing his name called tomorrow.