I recently spent some time at their training camp, watched some drills and also got to watch the team run plays as well. While I was there I took quite a few photos but also had the chance to speak with a few veteran players including Quarterback Arvell Nelson. He told me about the importance of having most of last years squad back together, “you come in with some type of camaraderie off the get, a lot of teams are patching people together and you have to learn each other but we already know each other.”

More than half of the ArenaBowl XXXI Champions are back for 2019 including LB Alvin Ray Jackson. Jackson quite a few years older than myself joked around that “camp is going great, legs feel great, I feel like I'm 26 again, I found the fountain of youth, hopefully, knock on wood.” We definitely shared a few laughs but I hope he did!

 

OL James Atoe said, “coming in I might be playing on the defensive side, might be playing on the offensive side, just need to be ready conditioning and endurance-wise, just trying to be the best player I can be.” This is definitely something we’ve talked about on the AFL Tonight podcast before, most recently I mentioned Lamark Brown, but it would be exciting to see more iron-man back in the Arena Football League.

Jon studied Business Management at the University of Pittsburgh and is originally from Maryland. An avid DMV sports fan, he often attends Capitals, Orioles, Wizards and Redskins games. Now a Washington Valor season plan holder and columnist for ArenaFan, he`ll be at every home game covering the team. He spends his free time with friends and family and freelancing graphic design projects. You can follow Jon on Twitter @5FIFTY3