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If you’re not paying attention, you just might miss him. Adam Schell has quietly worked his way into the top tier of talent in the ISFL over the course of the last 6+ years since he was originally scouted by the DSFL and brought into the realm of professional simulation football. He is not particularly involved in the happenings of the league off the field. You won’t find him in ISFL PA meetings waxing eloquently about players’ rights or fair pay or the way that the front office should be running things. You won’t find him in the presser after games giving wordy interviews or making promises of glory. Instead, you’re much more likely to find him in the gym, perfecting his strict workout regimen, volunteering with his “We Care” ministries together with the local churches of Berlin, or at home with his family enjoying some southern comfort food and episodes of “How I Met Your Mother.” Recently, Schell accepted an offer for an interview to catch up on the progress he has made at this point in his professional football career, with the contingency that I join him at his “We Care” event at the local homeless shelter, where the interview would take place. The following is the result of that meeting.
Schell told me to meet him at the VITA domus homeless shelter at 11:00am so that we could “beat the lunch rush” and have a chance to talk about his career thus far. Always one to be early so that I can get set up and make sure to be ready with my questions and notes, I walked into the shelter at 10:30, expecting to find a corner table, review my notes, and prepare for the interview like I always do. However, when the little bell on the door announced my arrival, I immediately heard Schell exclaim, “Oh good, you’re here! Come get your apron!”
My apron…?
I’ve never been much of a volunteer. To be honest, I think it’s usually used to puff up egos more than to help anybody in need. I remember going on short term missions trips as a kid and taking pictures surrounded by the “native kids” to show to my family when I got home. Who was really being helped by that? Ever since that realization, I’ve steered clear of the volunteer scene, but I was given no choice as an apron was tossed my way and I was told, “Meatloaf Mike is sick. We’re all hands on deck today.” Thus began my crash course on making, slicing, and serving meatloaf. On a day when I was supposed to be asking about Schell’s crushing tackles, I was the one crushing beef, onions, and breadcrumbs into a pan. Instead of discussing Schell’s smothering coverage, I was smothering ketchup a half inch thick (“that’s how mama did it”) on top of lunch for 250 people. Instead of making wise cracks at Schell regarding his one-and-done playoff history, I found myself cracking eggs and making sure my food was cooked well done (“Ain’t nobody coming to a homeless shelter and leaving with food poisoning!”)
After three hours of this, the line to the buffet was closed for the day and I was relieved of my apron duties. I grabbed a leftover slice of meatloaf – by the end they were looking pretty good, if I may say so myself – headed to a corner table and sat down with a big exhale. As I looked up, I saw Schell coming towards me with a pan of meatloaf, smiling ear to ear. “So, how’s the meatloaf man feelin’?” he jabbed at me as he sat down and began to dig into his own personal loaf. I looked at him with disbelief – this man had been running the kitchen since 9am on his day off, doing everything from cooking green beans to peeling potatoes to serving food and drinks to mopping up spills. “Where do you get your energy, young man?” I asked him. He just smiled and shrugged, took a few more bites of meatloaf, and said, through a mouth full of food, “So, you got any questions or what?”
That’s the thing with this kid. He’s not one to pursue praise for himself, that’s why you’ve probably never heard of him unless you’re a Tijuana or Berlin fan. He’s about the business at hand, and on this particular day, that business was an interview. So, I led with the first question I had been wondering as I’d spent the morning with him, “Tell me, who is Adam Schell?”
“You’re not messing around,” Schell replied. “I like that. Who am I? I’m just a kid from Kentucky who’s living his dream. I never thought I’d actually get to be paid to play the game I love, but each year when I make the cut for the team again, I’m reminded again of just how lucky I am to be doing what I love every day. I’m a Christ follower, a husband, a dad, and a football player. And for some reason people find that interesting. It beats me, I’m just doing what I love and enjoying every minute of it.”
That answer resonated with me. As a kid doodling in my notebooks during Sports Center every night, I always dreamed of being a part of the world of sports. I never was the best athlete – sure I played catcher for my church softball league, but we all know that means they were just letting me come along for the ride. But here I am years later covering the ISFL, traveling to Berlin for an exclusive interview, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m not sure why people choose to read my ramblings, but I’m incredibly grateful for it. Enough about me, though. I next inquired about longevity. “This sports world is a grind. What keeps you motivated and moving forward, and how long do you see yourself going?”
“I love the grind.” Schell said, even before I was done asking the question. “I was that kid that when I was working other jobs whom you could give the menial, repetitive tasks to and they would get done. I loved weeding a big garden bed and seeing the progress made little by little, as I worked my way across. I worked one job at a conveyer belt where my job was to do the same 10 second task over and over again for 4 hours at a time; I didn’t want to do that forever, but something in me loved it. So the grind, the work, the repetition that goes into this world of professional sports is something that speaks to me. I don’t mind getting up every morning at 5am to go to the gym because I can feel myself slowly getting stronger and faster. I don’t mind studying film for hours on end because I can diagnose the opposition better and better every time I do. I don’t mind the hours of practice because I can tell my guys and I are getting to gel more and more every time we’re out there together. So, a big part of what keeps me motivated is seeing those small improvements in myself week in and week out. I just got my first kick block! Did you see it? That happened because I’ve been working on my jump for years and I finally did it in a game. Those moments just make me want to train harder and get faster and stronger so that I can have more moments like that to look back on when I am done. Speaking of which, it’s gonna be a while, man. I feel like I’m at the top of my game right now and I’m not going anywhere until I can’t keep up anymore. Right now, it’s fun being in a spot where everybody else is trying to keep up with me. I’m gonna ride this momentum as long as I can.”
I wish I’d filmed this part of the interview just so you could see the big, goofy grin on Schell’s face as he wrapped up that statement. This kid loves the game; that much is for sure. And when a kid who loves the game as much as he does is s playing well, we all know how much fun that is to watch. “So how are things going in Berlin?”
Schell lit up at this question. “Man, I love it. I’m being pushed every day to get better and better because if I don’t I’m not gonna have a spot on this lineup. Right now my name’s at the top of the depth chart, but if I have a bad game, De Ville, McMullett those guys are coming for me. And I’d have it no other way. The coaches reward good play, and I’ve been fortunate to be playing well lately, and to be stretched into new ways to make an impact. I mentioned before my field goal block, but I’m also getting to play some nickel coverage and make an impact on the passing game across the field instead of only in the middle. I’ll be honest with you, it’s a challenge learning a whole new part of the game at this point in my career, but I have always loved a challenge. Ever since college when I recrafted my game to play linebacker instead of quarterback, I’ve always been up for a challenge. All that to say, we’ve got an amazing team. Our D is stacked and our offense is rolling – there’s so many weapons with Nick peaking and surrounded by King, Hood, Achtfunf, Boyd, Skiuuup, it’s unreal what’s going on over on that side of the ball. I’m so glad I only have to go against them on the practice field!”
In my experience as a reporter, almost every player says that their team is the best, or at least is going to compete with the best, at the beginning of the season. But after you do enough interviews with players you can tell if they really believe it or not. And let me tell you, this was the response of a kid who believes he’s winning a championship this year. Speaking of which, I had to ask the following question: “So Adam, tell me about the playoffs. You haven’t had a playoff win yet in your career – what’s going on there?”
Schell let out a big sigh. “I grew up a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals over in the NFL when that was the bigtime professional league. During my childhood they went on a streak of five straight years with playoff berths and they were one and done every season. It was demoralizing, and that was from a fan’s point of view. As a player, let me tell you, not having broken through that wall yet is extremely frustrating. But I can tell you it has nothing to do with nerves or the moment being too big or whatever theory you might want to present. If anything, I’m at my best in those moments. I’ve always been up for the big moment, the clutch tackle, the pass defense on fourth down, you name it. Fact is, we’ve just run into some buzz saws in the playoffs. Take this past season, we were the one seed after a killer year and ran into Yellowknife coming off a crazy hot stretch. We fought them hard to the end, but that defense was insane and carried them all the way to the ‘chip. I always believe I can beat any opponent on any day, but sometimes you face a team that just isn’t going to lose. But on the flip side, sometimes you ARE the team that just isn’t going to lose. If you ask me, come playoff time this year, the Berlin Fire Salamanders are going to be that team.”
“Is that a promise?” I asked, always eager to get a juicy headline.
“I’m not one for making the sexy statements to the media. You know that.” Schell said with a grin. “But if we aren’t playing for an Ultimus this year, I will be extremely surprised. I’ve never been in a room of players and coaches who feel as much like they’re on the same page as I do this season in our locker room. It’s like we’ve finally found our identity, and once you know who you are and what you’re about, it’s easy to be a cohesive unit. Kind of like making a good meatloaf.”
That’s when it hit me. But just to be sure, I asked, “So…where was Meatloaf Mike today?”
Schell just smiled. “I think you know there is no Meatloaf Mike. It was time for you to get called up to the big leagues today. Your first meatloaf was pretty bad, I’m not gonna lie. But the more times you made it, the more you got familiar with the ingredients, the better they got. Here in Berlin, we’ve been working on our ‘meatloaf recipe’ now for five years, and I think we’ve finally got it down. We’ve found the best ingredients in our players, the best recipes in our play calling and strategy, and now we’ve gotten enough reps to feel really confident that we can pull it off every single time. But you know, there’s another reason I asked you to meet me here today.”
“Oh really? What was that?” I asked.
“Because this is what matters.” Schell said. “My football career is amazing. I’m so thankful that I get to be a part of what we’re doing in Berlin and to be a part of this community. But when I get a bit older and slower, I know it’s going to come to an end. But even when it does, the needs of this community won’t. That’s why I started “We Care” ministries here. I’m not looking to get myself any kind of attention or fame. I’m looking to get these people food, and maybe even jobs and homes on down the line. I’m looking to get the kids down the street without anybody looking out for them connected to families, because everybody deserves a family. I’m looking to get people the help they need to get out of addictions and into rehab centers so that they can live free lives again. And I didn’t have to start any of those movements. The churches here were already doing all of this, I’ve just been lucky enough to get to give some of my paychecks and time to help grow their efforts. There are churches and every day people in all our communities who are trying to make these things happen. If my story can inspire anybody to do anything, I hope that it’s to go out and find the people who are doing good in each of our communities and join them. Even if you don’t know how to make meatloaf.”
Well damn. I didn’t walk into that shelter expecting to talk about things other than the game that we have all come to love, but I’m glad that I did. I’m glad that my agent assigned me this story of a young, quiet linebacker from Kentucky, living across the ocean in Berlin. I’m glad that I was bamboozled into cooking a dish I’d never made for hundreds of people – there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. And now, I’m glad to go home and find somebody who’s hungry so I can make them some meatloaf – God knows I still need the practice.
If you’re not paying attention, you just might miss him. Adam Schell has quietly worked his way into the top tier of talent in the ISFL over the course of the last 6+ years since he was originally scouted by the DSFL and brought into the realm of professional simulation football. He is not particularly involved in the happenings of the league off the field. You won’t find him in ISFL PA meetings waxing eloquently about players’ rights or fair pay or the way that the front office should be running things. You won’t find him in the presser after games giving wordy interviews or making promises of glory. Instead, you’re much more likely to find him in the gym, perfecting his strict workout regimen, volunteering with his “We Care” ministries together with the local churches of Berlin, or at home with his family enjoying some southern comfort food and episodes of “How I Met Your Mother.” Recently, Schell accepted an offer for an interview to catch up on the progress he has made at this point in his professional football career, with the contingency that I join him at his “We Care” event at the local homeless shelter, where the interview would take place. The following is the result of that meeting.
Schell told me to meet him at the VITA domus homeless shelter at 11:00am so that we could “beat the lunch rush” and have a chance to talk about his career thus far. Always one to be early so that I can get set up and make sure to be ready with my questions and notes, I walked into the shelter at 10:30, expecting to find a corner table, review my notes, and prepare for the interview like I always do. However, when the little bell on the door announced my arrival, I immediately heard Schell exclaim, “Oh good, you’re here! Come get your apron!”
My apron…?
I’ve never been much of a volunteer. To be honest, I think it’s usually used to puff up egos more than to help anybody in need. I remember going on short term missions trips as a kid and taking pictures surrounded by the “native kids” to show to my family when I got home. Who was really being helped by that? Ever since that realization, I’ve steered clear of the volunteer scene, but I was given no choice as an apron was tossed my way and I was told, “Meatloaf Mike is sick. We’re all hands on deck today.” Thus began my crash course on making, slicing, and serving meatloaf. On a day when I was supposed to be asking about Schell’s crushing tackles, I was the one crushing beef, onions, and breadcrumbs into a pan. Instead of discussing Schell’s smothering coverage, I was smothering ketchup a half inch thick (“that’s how mama did it”) on top of lunch for 250 people. Instead of making wise cracks at Schell regarding his one-and-done playoff history, I found myself cracking eggs and making sure my food was cooked well done (“Ain’t nobody coming to a homeless shelter and leaving with food poisoning!”)
After three hours of this, the line to the buffet was closed for the day and I was relieved of my apron duties. I grabbed a leftover slice of meatloaf – by the end they were looking pretty good, if I may say so myself – headed to a corner table and sat down with a big exhale. As I looked up, I saw Schell coming towards me with a pan of meatloaf, smiling ear to ear. “So, how’s the meatloaf man feelin’?” he jabbed at me as he sat down and began to dig into his own personal loaf. I looked at him with disbelief – this man had been running the kitchen since 9am on his day off, doing everything from cooking green beans to peeling potatoes to serving food and drinks to mopping up spills. “Where do you get your energy, young man?” I asked him. He just smiled and shrugged, took a few more bites of meatloaf, and said, through a mouth full of food, “So, you got any questions or what?”
That’s the thing with this kid. He’s not one to pursue praise for himself, that’s why you’ve probably never heard of him unless you’re a Tijuana or Berlin fan. He’s about the business at hand, and on this particular day, that business was an interview. So, I led with the first question I had been wondering as I’d spent the morning with him, “Tell me, who is Adam Schell?”
“You’re not messing around,” Schell replied. “I like that. Who am I? I’m just a kid from Kentucky who’s living his dream. I never thought I’d actually get to be paid to play the game I love, but each year when I make the cut for the team again, I’m reminded again of just how lucky I am to be doing what I love every day. I’m a Christ follower, a husband, a dad, and a football player. And for some reason people find that interesting. It beats me, I’m just doing what I love and enjoying every minute of it.”
That answer resonated with me. As a kid doodling in my notebooks during Sports Center every night, I always dreamed of being a part of the world of sports. I never was the best athlete – sure I played catcher for my church softball league, but we all know that means they were just letting me come along for the ride. But here I am years later covering the ISFL, traveling to Berlin for an exclusive interview, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m not sure why people choose to read my ramblings, but I’m incredibly grateful for it. Enough about me, though. I next inquired about longevity. “This sports world is a grind. What keeps you motivated and moving forward, and how long do you see yourself going?”
“I love the grind.” Schell said, even before I was done asking the question. “I was that kid that when I was working other jobs whom you could give the menial, repetitive tasks to and they would get done. I loved weeding a big garden bed and seeing the progress made little by little, as I worked my way across. I worked one job at a conveyer belt where my job was to do the same 10 second task over and over again for 4 hours at a time; I didn’t want to do that forever, but something in me loved it. So the grind, the work, the repetition that goes into this world of professional sports is something that speaks to me. I don’t mind getting up every morning at 5am to go to the gym because I can feel myself slowly getting stronger and faster. I don’t mind studying film for hours on end because I can diagnose the opposition better and better every time I do. I don’t mind the hours of practice because I can tell my guys and I are getting to gel more and more every time we’re out there together. So, a big part of what keeps me motivated is seeing those small improvements in myself week in and week out. I just got my first kick block! Did you see it? That happened because I’ve been working on my jump for years and I finally did it in a game. Those moments just make me want to train harder and get faster and stronger so that I can have more moments like that to look back on when I am done. Speaking of which, it’s gonna be a while, man. I feel like I’m at the top of my game right now and I’m not going anywhere until I can’t keep up anymore. Right now, it’s fun being in a spot where everybody else is trying to keep up with me. I’m gonna ride this momentum as long as I can.”
I wish I’d filmed this part of the interview just so you could see the big, goofy grin on Schell’s face as he wrapped up that statement. This kid loves the game; that much is for sure. And when a kid who loves the game as much as he does is s playing well, we all know how much fun that is to watch. “So how are things going in Berlin?”
Schell lit up at this question. “Man, I love it. I’m being pushed every day to get better and better because if I don’t I’m not gonna have a spot on this lineup. Right now my name’s at the top of the depth chart, but if I have a bad game, De Ville, McMullett those guys are coming for me. And I’d have it no other way. The coaches reward good play, and I’ve been fortunate to be playing well lately, and to be stretched into new ways to make an impact. I mentioned before my field goal block, but I’m also getting to play some nickel coverage and make an impact on the passing game across the field instead of only in the middle. I’ll be honest with you, it’s a challenge learning a whole new part of the game at this point in my career, but I have always loved a challenge. Ever since college when I recrafted my game to play linebacker instead of quarterback, I’ve always been up for a challenge. All that to say, we’ve got an amazing team. Our D is stacked and our offense is rolling – there’s so many weapons with Nick peaking and surrounded by King, Hood, Achtfunf, Boyd, Skiuuup, it’s unreal what’s going on over on that side of the ball. I’m so glad I only have to go against them on the practice field!”
In my experience as a reporter, almost every player says that their team is the best, or at least is going to compete with the best, at the beginning of the season. But after you do enough interviews with players you can tell if they really believe it or not. And let me tell you, this was the response of a kid who believes he’s winning a championship this year. Speaking of which, I had to ask the following question: “So Adam, tell me about the playoffs. You haven’t had a playoff win yet in your career – what’s going on there?”
Schell let out a big sigh. “I grew up a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals over in the NFL when that was the bigtime professional league. During my childhood they went on a streak of five straight years with playoff berths and they were one and done every season. It was demoralizing, and that was from a fan’s point of view. As a player, let me tell you, not having broken through that wall yet is extremely frustrating. But I can tell you it has nothing to do with nerves or the moment being too big or whatever theory you might want to present. If anything, I’m at my best in those moments. I’ve always been up for the big moment, the clutch tackle, the pass defense on fourth down, you name it. Fact is, we’ve just run into some buzz saws in the playoffs. Take this past season, we were the one seed after a killer year and ran into Yellowknife coming off a crazy hot stretch. We fought them hard to the end, but that defense was insane and carried them all the way to the ‘chip. I always believe I can beat any opponent on any day, but sometimes you face a team that just isn’t going to lose. But on the flip side, sometimes you ARE the team that just isn’t going to lose. If you ask me, come playoff time this year, the Berlin Fire Salamanders are going to be that team.”
“Is that a promise?” I asked, always eager to get a juicy headline.
“I’m not one for making the sexy statements to the media. You know that.” Schell said with a grin. “But if we aren’t playing for an Ultimus this year, I will be extremely surprised. I’ve never been in a room of players and coaches who feel as much like they’re on the same page as I do this season in our locker room. It’s like we’ve finally found our identity, and once you know who you are and what you’re about, it’s easy to be a cohesive unit. Kind of like making a good meatloaf.”
That’s when it hit me. But just to be sure, I asked, “So…where was Meatloaf Mike today?”
Schell just smiled. “I think you know there is no Meatloaf Mike. It was time for you to get called up to the big leagues today. Your first meatloaf was pretty bad, I’m not gonna lie. But the more times you made it, the more you got familiar with the ingredients, the better they got. Here in Berlin, we’ve been working on our ‘meatloaf recipe’ now for five years, and I think we’ve finally got it down. We’ve found the best ingredients in our players, the best recipes in our play calling and strategy, and now we’ve gotten enough reps to feel really confident that we can pull it off every single time. But you know, there’s another reason I asked you to meet me here today.”
“Oh really? What was that?” I asked.
“Because this is what matters.” Schell said. “My football career is amazing. I’m so thankful that I get to be a part of what we’re doing in Berlin and to be a part of this community. But when I get a bit older and slower, I know it’s going to come to an end. But even when it does, the needs of this community won’t. That’s why I started “We Care” ministries here. I’m not looking to get myself any kind of attention or fame. I’m looking to get these people food, and maybe even jobs and homes on down the line. I’m looking to get the kids down the street without anybody looking out for them connected to families, because everybody deserves a family. I’m looking to get people the help they need to get out of addictions and into rehab centers so that they can live free lives again. And I didn’t have to start any of those movements. The churches here were already doing all of this, I’ve just been lucky enough to get to give some of my paychecks and time to help grow their efforts. There are churches and every day people in all our communities who are trying to make these things happen. If my story can inspire anybody to do anything, I hope that it’s to go out and find the people who are doing good in each of our communities and join them. Even if you don’t know how to make meatloaf.”
Well damn. I didn’t walk into that shelter expecting to talk about things other than the game that we have all come to love, but I’m glad that I did. I’m glad that my agent assigned me this story of a young, quiet linebacker from Kentucky, living across the ocean in Berlin. I’m glad that I was bamboozled into cooking a dish I’d never made for hundreds of people – there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. And now, I’m glad to go home and find somebody who’s hungry so I can make them some meatloaf – God knows I still need the practice.
![[Image: Fq9564iX0AAzNOH?format=png&name=small]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fq9564iX0AAzNOH?format=png&name=small)
![[Image: IgoYKoh.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/IgoYKoh.gif)
