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Ready for Grading. 1761 words
Green Beginnings
The road to the NSFL is one often traveled and rarely finished. It’s a grueling devotion to better yourself from a very young age that very few have the perseverance to follow through on. It’s physically demanding, mentally draining and at the end of the day a lot of those that do stick with it will still never make the big show. For most people, it’s a childhood dream come true to be drafted into the NSFL. It’s the culmination of years and years of hard work, determination and pure desire to become a professional. That’s the way it is for most people, but not for Jon Ross.
Unlike most of the S2 draft class, the love for football isn’t something Ross had acquired until well into his teens. In fact, he knew almost nothing about the game for the early stages of his life. He never had a favourite team and never owned a jersey. He never huddled around a tv with his friends on Sundays and never made a stupid bet during the championship. Instead he was out with his friends playing soccer during the summer and hockey during the winter. He was always athletic and loved to run. He liked running so much so that he decided to join the track team in high school. As a freshman, Ross broke many of his school board’s records for sprints up to 800M. His times in the shorter 100M and 200M sprints were so good in fact that he was invited to partake in the provincial track and field tournament where he ended up taking home the gold medal in both events.
It wasn’t until his sophomore year that the thought of playing football would ever cross his mind. One morning after track practice, the tack coach ( and coincidentally the football coach) made a comment joking that Ross should would make a pretty good receiver with how fast he could run. Ross took it as a joke initially. Besides, he knew nothing about football and thought he was too small to make it in such a physical game. The next week at track practice, the coach made a similar remark. This time, however, he invited the young sprinter to the football team’s practice later that week. “All you have to do is catch the ball and run”. That sounded easy enough to Ross so he agreed and later that week he found himself on the football field, fully geared up and absolutely confused with what was going on around him. He lined up where he was told to and did exactly what he was told to: catch the ball and run.
Getting a Grip
Ross’ speed made him a natural receiver. He was a rather intelligent kid as well so it took him no time to grasp the rules and all the offensive and defensive concepts of the game. He quickly earned a reputation as one of the most reliable wide receivers in the school board league and he never looked back. He still didn’t know anything about any of the pro teams and he still hadn’t invested himself in a championship game but he knew that he wanted to play football.
Others wanted him to play football too. In his last year of high school he started getting offers from various colleges across North America but he wasn’t sure that he would want to continue his academic career. There were pros and cons to turning pro or going to college but in the end, Ross opted to turn down the college rout and declare immediately for the NSFL S2 entry draft.
This move came as a bit of a surprise to some. It’s a little unconventional to begin with but this was a player that hasn’t even been playing for 3 full seasons at a high school level. It was unheard of for someone in that situation to even declare for the draft and it took no time for pro scouts to start writing him off. Ross didn’t let that bother him though. He showed up to combines and showed everyone what he had to offer. Ross must’ve left a good impression somehow because following all the rookie combines, he remained in contact with a few teams. Some had already expressed their desire to draft Ross while others were still testing the waters to get a feel for the prospect. In the weeks leading up to the draft Ross had spoken to representatives from most teams, with the exception for the Las Vegas Legion, Orange County Otters and San Jose SaberCats. Not hearing from almost half the league must have definitely been a bit concerning to Ross but he was very pleased with the conversations he had with the teams that were actually interested.
As the draft drew closer and closer communication with the GMS started to get a little scarce for Ross’ liking. He was starting to think that most teams had decided to look elsewhere for their receiving needs. He still had contact with one team though: the Arizona Outlaws. It seemed like a great fit for both team and player. Ross liked what they had to offer and honestly thought they were one of the only teams seriously interested in drafting him.
Draft Day
The big day had finally arrived and like most other draft prospects, Ross was there nice and early and dressed for the occasion. The prospects were all chatting about what round they thought they were going to go in and which teams were interested in them and Ross started to think more and more about his situation. He hadn’t had much contact with any GMs in the days before the draft and he really didn’t know what they thought of him. How long he would have to wait until he heard his name called was anyone’s guess.
The first round went by as expected; there weren’t many reaches and all the big prospects were taken around where the experts predicted they would be. Then the second and third rounds came. Then the fourth….and the fifth and Ross was still warming his seat in the crowd, eager to hear his name called and frustrated at not having been called already. Every team in the league except for Vegas had multiple chances to draft him and chose not to. The list of available prospects was wearing thin though and he knew it was only a matter of time until he would finally get to go on stage and throw on an NSFL jersey. Just as he had expected, he wouldn’t wait long to hear his name called.
“Yeti select Jon Ross, Wide receiver at 47”
Ross was glad to be able to finally breathe although still a bit stung that 46 other players had been deemed more worthy of a draft pick than him. The Yeti were a team that he had Very little contact with prior to the draft and he was quite surprised that he ended up being drafted by them. Nonetheless, their management treated him with nothing but the utmost respect and they genuinely seemed happy to be able to draft him. Yeti GM @`incitehysteria` had this to say about Ross during a short media scrum following the draft:
"Seeing Ross around our pick in the 6th Round was astonishing. We thought he was among the top receivers in the class. Being able to bring in an elite talent like Ross is going to do wonders for the Yeti offense. We saw the departure of Jonathan Shaloiko in the offseason through the expansion draft that left a gaping hole in the Yeti passing game. But we feel not only did we fill that hole we upgraded. Ross has extremely reliable hands and has the speed to gain separation from the linebackers and nickel defensive backs that will be covering him in the slot often. Overall we're just super glad that we were able to find a talent like Ross so deep in the draft. We feel like he is a pick that defines what the Yeti are about. Locker room character, elite talent, and true team play. We can see Jon Ross playing a huge part in the success of Colorado."
High Times Ahead
Pre season will soon be underway and we will finally get a look at all these draftees in action with their respective teams. Ross has integrated extremely well in a short period of time with the Yeti and he has a new jump in his game joining an experienced and elite receiving team of Hendrix and Law (that would be a great name for a law firm). The Yeti added some important pieces to an already dominant defensive lineup during the draft and they have one of the best QBs in the league. The LR is excited and the positive attitude emanating from the players is contagious. The future is really bright for Colorado and these players know it. They have already received some criticism towards some of the picks they made this draft (Ross being questioned as a safe pick at 47 being one of them) but the Yeti aren’t letting it phase them. They are firing on all cylinders and they know they will be a force in the league this season. Here is what Ross had to say regarding the criticism:
“People are going to say what they want and it really doesn’t matter. We have a few guys, myself included, that are being questioned by the media as good or safe picks but we really aren’t letting that get to us. We see the talent that we have up and down the lineup and it’s really hard not to get excited. At the end of the day, where you go in the draft doesn’t matter and we know that. We are ready to get this season started and to prove all the naysayers wrong.”
Ross’ new teammate Philippe Carter (@enigmatic ) also had something to say following the draft:
“I like seahorses”
While we aren’t quite sure about the relation between the seahorse and….anything, we DO know that we look forward to the start of the highly anticipated 2nd season in the NSFL. It’s gearing up to be an exciting season full of story lines and the players are ready to get started. It’s been a long journey so far for some and it isn’t over. Ross is going to need to work hard to keep up throughout the season but he and the Yeti are poised and ready to do so.
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Graded