Connor Quigley - OL - Kansas City Coyotes
“Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth”.
The old Tyson quote is ubiquitous and applicable in so many different situations, however, it especially rings true in my personal journey to the DSFL. Coming off of a relatively unassuming and easy-going college career, I unfortunately assumed that as an offensive lineman I would coast into a cozy early round draft pick and settle nicely into a team. I used my first 50 TPE haphazardly and neglected to obtain any more before the draft, setting me up for immense failure. It was only through sheer luck that I was drafted in a later round to Kansas City, as they had decided to draft all human offensive line players in an unprecedented move.
Post draft, off the field issues persisted in my personal life and kept me from learning the league and gaining much needed TPE. It wasn’t until about week 6 that my teammate Thomaslacher sat me down and asked what was up; why wasn’t I updating or contributing to the locker room? I was in a hole, much like when you let course work in college pile up and the weight of it seems insurmountable. He proceeded to meticulously walk me through every step of completing point tasks, purchasing equipment, doing activity checks, and doing weekly training. A solid two hours of his personal time was spent getting me up to speed and making sure my update page was air-tight and organized. Now, at the time of writing this, I have the most pancakes of any guard in the DSFL. I owe Thomaslacher a great debt, and any future success in the DSFL and ISFL is entirely because of his guidance and kindness.
So, like any good comeback story, my inner monologue went from “welcome to the League, scrub” to “welcome to the League, brother” and I can only hope to pay it forward in dividends someday.
“Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth”.
The old Tyson quote is ubiquitous and applicable in so many different situations, however, it especially rings true in my personal journey to the DSFL. Coming off of a relatively unassuming and easy-going college career, I unfortunately assumed that as an offensive lineman I would coast into a cozy early round draft pick and settle nicely into a team. I used my first 50 TPE haphazardly and neglected to obtain any more before the draft, setting me up for immense failure. It was only through sheer luck that I was drafted in a later round to Kansas City, as they had decided to draft all human offensive line players in an unprecedented move.
Post draft, off the field issues persisted in my personal life and kept me from learning the league and gaining much needed TPE. It wasn’t until about week 6 that my teammate Thomaslacher sat me down and asked what was up; why wasn’t I updating or contributing to the locker room? I was in a hole, much like when you let course work in college pile up and the weight of it seems insurmountable. He proceeded to meticulously walk me through every step of completing point tasks, purchasing equipment, doing activity checks, and doing weekly training. A solid two hours of his personal time was spent getting me up to speed and making sure my update page was air-tight and organized. Now, at the time of writing this, I have the most pancakes of any guard in the DSFL. I owe Thomaslacher a great debt, and any future success in the DSFL and ISFL is entirely because of his guidance and kindness.
So, like any good comeback story, my inner monologue went from “welcome to the League, scrub” to “welcome to the League, brother” and I can only hope to pay it forward in dividends someday.