[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Getting to know C.A. Chess[/div]
INTRO TO CHESS
To say it has been a long road for Charles Arthur Chess (C.A. for short) is an understatement of epic proportions. Born to an abusive father and well-meaning, albeit over-worked, mother in Flint, Michigan meant that automatically Chess would have to work twice as hard in three times as brutal conditions as prospects that come from sunny California or tropical Florida.
“As cliché as is it sounds,” muses Chess, “it feels like sports was my first real outlet for all of these pent up feelings -- when I hit the blacktop or the field or the diamond I truly felt like I could be myself. And coming from the background I come from…. Let’s just say it was a necessary escape.” Getting Chess to open up about his blood family is a difficult task, ask him about his other passions: football, boxing, politics, writing, and his closest friends and his naturally hardened exterior melts away instantaneously. Though if you ask family friends, namely his cousins whom he shares a seemingly unbreakable bond with, they’ll tell you that the years of being ignored by his father have taken a toll -- but also left him with a sense of pride.
A FAMILY MAN
“A lot of people blow up and say they did it all by themselves, that was never C.A.’s method of operation. Ever since his first scholarship offers he made it known to us that it would be impossible without the support of our family. But with that being said, he also knows how bad it hurts to have a father who would not show up to a single one of his games growing up. And that fire fuels him.” Certainly it seems that the fire burning inside of Chess is in a constant state of alternating between burning brightly and flickering off, ask the wrong question and he’ll go dark -- quick. Above all he seems aggravated about the questions about “the accident” when a drunk driver hit him while he was walking back to his hotel following the University of Michigan’s Sun Bowl victory following his junior season.
“Mostly I’m just sick of talking about it. It’s the same shit every time. No, my knee doesn’t hurt anymore. No, I don’t hold any anger towards the driver anymore. No, I don’t think it should impact my draft stock. That’s all I have to say. Unless you have a unique or otherwise interesting question, I’d like to move on.” But NSFL scouts have been quick to point out that the once top-tier prospect looks a step slower and a bit out-of-touch following his recovery from a shattered kneecap and missing his entire senior year of college.
THE SCOUT'S OUTLOOK
“His entire game has had to change,” said one team’s head scout who spoke on condition of anonymity, “he came into the NCAA with size and speed, but the injury is clearly still slowing him down -- there’s just no doubt in my mind. His hands are great for a prospect, and you can tell he’s working his ass off to get his speed where it needs to be, but for right now I’m advising our General Manager to beware. It’s nothing personal, just reporting what I see on the field.”
Like any athlete, the hardest part of the injury was watching his teammate’s success and knowing that he couldn’t be on the battlefield with them. “He’d spend hours a day in rehab, far beyond what the trainers recommended, but there was just absolutely no pulling him away from the rehab room. He was committed to the 10th degree” raved one UofM assistant. And to make a mark in the blooming NSFL, now entering its second season of play, Chess will have to bring his workhorse attitude to the practice field every single day. Despite being a relatively new league and even factoring in the new expansion teams there is a stable of talented wide receivers spread around the league, and to break through into a top 2 or 3 starting spot, Chess will need to prove to owners and GM’s that he can work past his devastating injury.
“What happened to him, you know the accident, was completely and totally unfair,” said his Aunt Teah, “but that won’t stop Chester Arthur Chess, it just won’t. We make sure he hears what the scouts are saying. We don’t let him shy away from it, because men like him aren’t motivated by praise; they’re motivated by doubt. And though he may be too modest to say it out loud to you folks (the media) I know that deep down Chess wants to completely silence all of the doubters out there. And as someone who’s known that boy since he was an infant, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
UNCERTAINTY (AND EXCITEMENT) AHEAD
So where does the 6’4 burly receiver land in mock drafts? Well, at this point it’s just too early to tell. Teams will need to find time to fly out to Flint to watch his workouts and see if they can put the lingering injury concerns behind them. Chess seems captivated and excited by the idea of entering the league, though he clearly tries to taper his excitement in front of the cameras as to not come off as a showboat. However the always-opinionated boy from Flint offers up a rather specific answer when asked where he would like to end up on draft day: “You know, honestly, I’m going to play my hardest wherever I go. But when I was a little kid dreaming of the moment I got drafted I had always hoped I could go to a city with some grit. You know what I mean? A real working-class environment, that’s just where I thrive when I’m surrounded by people who are going through the grind every single day -- I relate to that, deep down I really do. With that being said, again, I’ll play my hardest wherever I go… But a kid can dream can’t he?” With that being said, Chester Arthur Chess leans back his head and laughs a good, clean laugh and for a moment it’s impossible to imagine anything, even his devastating injury, holding him back from achieving his goals.
(word count: 1,035)
INTRO TO CHESS
To say it has been a long road for Charles Arthur Chess (C.A. for short) is an understatement of epic proportions. Born to an abusive father and well-meaning, albeit over-worked, mother in Flint, Michigan meant that automatically Chess would have to work twice as hard in three times as brutal conditions as prospects that come from sunny California or tropical Florida.
“As cliché as is it sounds,” muses Chess, “it feels like sports was my first real outlet for all of these pent up feelings -- when I hit the blacktop or the field or the diamond I truly felt like I could be myself. And coming from the background I come from…. Let’s just say it was a necessary escape.” Getting Chess to open up about his blood family is a difficult task, ask him about his other passions: football, boxing, politics, writing, and his closest friends and his naturally hardened exterior melts away instantaneously. Though if you ask family friends, namely his cousins whom he shares a seemingly unbreakable bond with, they’ll tell you that the years of being ignored by his father have taken a toll -- but also left him with a sense of pride.
A FAMILY MAN
“A lot of people blow up and say they did it all by themselves, that was never C.A.’s method of operation. Ever since his first scholarship offers he made it known to us that it would be impossible without the support of our family. But with that being said, he also knows how bad it hurts to have a father who would not show up to a single one of his games growing up. And that fire fuels him.” Certainly it seems that the fire burning inside of Chess is in a constant state of alternating between burning brightly and flickering off, ask the wrong question and he’ll go dark -- quick. Above all he seems aggravated about the questions about “the accident” when a drunk driver hit him while he was walking back to his hotel following the University of Michigan’s Sun Bowl victory following his junior season.
“Mostly I’m just sick of talking about it. It’s the same shit every time. No, my knee doesn’t hurt anymore. No, I don’t hold any anger towards the driver anymore. No, I don’t think it should impact my draft stock. That’s all I have to say. Unless you have a unique or otherwise interesting question, I’d like to move on.” But NSFL scouts have been quick to point out that the once top-tier prospect looks a step slower and a bit out-of-touch following his recovery from a shattered kneecap and missing his entire senior year of college.
THE SCOUT'S OUTLOOK
“His entire game has had to change,” said one team’s head scout who spoke on condition of anonymity, “he came into the NCAA with size and speed, but the injury is clearly still slowing him down -- there’s just no doubt in my mind. His hands are great for a prospect, and you can tell he’s working his ass off to get his speed where it needs to be, but for right now I’m advising our General Manager to beware. It’s nothing personal, just reporting what I see on the field.”
Like any athlete, the hardest part of the injury was watching his teammate’s success and knowing that he couldn’t be on the battlefield with them. “He’d spend hours a day in rehab, far beyond what the trainers recommended, but there was just absolutely no pulling him away from the rehab room. He was committed to the 10th degree” raved one UofM assistant. And to make a mark in the blooming NSFL, now entering its second season of play, Chess will have to bring his workhorse attitude to the practice field every single day. Despite being a relatively new league and even factoring in the new expansion teams there is a stable of talented wide receivers spread around the league, and to break through into a top 2 or 3 starting spot, Chess will need to prove to owners and GM’s that he can work past his devastating injury.
“What happened to him, you know the accident, was completely and totally unfair,” said his Aunt Teah, “but that won’t stop Chester Arthur Chess, it just won’t. We make sure he hears what the scouts are saying. We don’t let him shy away from it, because men like him aren’t motivated by praise; they’re motivated by doubt. And though he may be too modest to say it out loud to you folks (the media) I know that deep down Chess wants to completely silence all of the doubters out there. And as someone who’s known that boy since he was an infant, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
UNCERTAINTY (AND EXCITEMENT) AHEAD
So where does the 6’4 burly receiver land in mock drafts? Well, at this point it’s just too early to tell. Teams will need to find time to fly out to Flint to watch his workouts and see if they can put the lingering injury concerns behind them. Chess seems captivated and excited by the idea of entering the league, though he clearly tries to taper his excitement in front of the cameras as to not come off as a showboat. However the always-opinionated boy from Flint offers up a rather specific answer when asked where he would like to end up on draft day: “You know, honestly, I’m going to play my hardest wherever I go. But when I was a little kid dreaming of the moment I got drafted I had always hoped I could go to a city with some grit. You know what I mean? A real working-class environment, that’s just where I thrive when I’m surrounded by people who are going through the grind every single day -- I relate to that, deep down I really do. With that being said, again, I’ll play my hardest wherever I go… But a kid can dream can’t he?” With that being said, Chester Arthur Chess leans back his head and laughs a good, clean laugh and for a moment it’s impossible to imagine anything, even his devastating injury, holding him back from achieving his goals.
(word count: 1,035)