Japan Invades Indiana with X-League MVP
Matthew Pickut
Saturday March 16, 2002
In ancient Japan, unaffiliated Samurai called Ronin would roam the country looking for patrons. A more modern version of the Ronin showed up at the Firebirds’ free agent tryouts last week, when Kenta Yagi came to tryouts from the Japanese x-league looking for a team, and turned some heads in doing so.
Though an x-league MVP, Yagi came into Friday’s tryouts as a relative unknown. “I want to see how far I can go in American football,” said Yagi. “This is the first time that I’ve tried out, so I’d like to sign on to a team. I think the AFL is the best way to get into pro football.”
At 6’1’’, Yagi stands out most not because of his size but because of his attitude. Current Firebirds players and staff in attendance all remarked how much they liked Yagi, who also worked out with team members Thursday. Even after spending over a thousand dollars on the trip, his ever-present smile stood in stark contrast to some of the other obviously stressed would-be Firebirds.
As the coaches put Yagi through his paces, it was obvious that he possessed a great deal of talent. “He showed great timing and touch. He has a better understanding of football than I expected … quick to pick up little points that you give him,” said offensive coordinator Brian Partlow. “He needs to work on arm strength to really excel. He impressed me for a one-day work out. He has a chance.” Many of Yagi’s passes drew applause from spectators and fellow athletes alike. Yagi’s level of talent impressesd Partlow. “He could definitly play in at least the AF2 right now.”
Kenta remarked that the players at the tryout surpassed his past teammates in one way in particular. “Well actually the x-league in Japan is company teams,” he remarked. “It’s good but the people here are bigger. There are big guys, but the big guys over there don’t play American football.”
Yagi who found out about the try-outs over the internet said that Arena football is known in Japan even if many of those who know about the game have never seen it for themselves. “It’s very popular to know sports but they don’t see so much or play so much.”
As for the rest of the hopefuls, head coach Mike Dailey said that they identified about three or four skill players and another four or five linemen and linebackers that bear looking into. “You’ve got be a guy who shows quickly,” said Dailey, “We might look at some tape and if we like what we see, bring them in on a two-day waiver contract to see what they can do.”
Dailey and his coaches take the open tryouts seriously, especially after last year. “The greatest story in the world was what happened with Mike Leak,” recalled Dailey. “He took a bus from Wisconsin to downtown Indianapolis and walked from the bus station to here [the Sportszone] which is 5,6,7 miles and slept in a car overnight. There were 219 people who tried out last year, and we didn’t know who he was and he made our team. Now that’s just unbelievable to me that that kid has that kind of determination and can stand out among 219 guys and make our football team and stay all year. That’s rare, but those guys are out there; I hope that we’re finding them.”
Recruits
The Firebirds pride themselves on recruiting character guys and if first impressions are any indication, they scored with former Colt and Bears defensive end Van Tuinei who was at the tryouts along with several of the Firebirds’ veterans. Tuinei, who listed at 6’4” but seemed much bigger, possessed a quiet, likeable demeanor that will no doubt make him a fan favorite right from the start.
Tuinei, who moved his family to Indiana in the offseason, seemed genuinely happy to be there even though he’s still learning the Arena game. “I don’t know what to think to tell you the truth,” said Tuinei. “I don’t even know what to expect, I’m still learning the rules of the game, so I came down here to talk some of the vets to see how the game is played.”
Tuinei will switch from DE to OL/DL, which will bring back memories for the NFL veteran. “The last time I played offensive line was in high school,” he recalled, “but at least there are a lot of three-step drops [in the AFL].”
FB/LB Rashon Burns, another new face for the Firebirds, also attended the tryouts to observe. Burns, who spent some preseason time with the Bears after graduating from East Carolina University, is another personality that seems well suited to the Firebirds. Burns, who called me ‘sir’ (Still not comfortable with Mr. or Rev., Sir is way too much respect for me), remarked that he sensed the chemistry of the Firebirds right away.
For his part, Coach Dailey expects all the new additions to make for an interesting training camp. “I think there is going to be a lot of competition on the line. I think there is going to be a lot of competition at defensive back. We’re getting DS Evan Hlavacek and DS Donnie Caldwell back. Those are two guys we’ve had in the past who have NFL experience in the secondary, and on the line we signed Van Tuinei who has four years of NFL experience, OL/DL Hugh Hunter as a free agent who is one of the premier pass rushers in the arena league, OL/DL Chris Ward who lead NFL Europe in sacks, and I think we have four good QBs. So it’s going to be tight all the way around.”
ABC/NFL/AFL/Fat Guy Running Rule
On the oft-discussed TV deal scene, Coach Dailey does not expect to change what he is doing too much because of the NBC deal. “It’s something that we’ve all be hoping for,” he said. “I don’t think it changes anything we do. I think we have been professional and tried to do the right things for a lot of years. I think the higher ups, the Commissioner and the board of directors, whatever they want us to do from the football side. I’m talking about how you can work out the kinks of how you can get the games into the 2 ½ hour window for the network, if it will change how we time the game or maybe something else. Those are all things being worked out by the rules committee [no doubt after dealing with the Matt Pickut/Fat Guy running proposal] and the coaches will do that. The only part that will affect us is what we will have to do to be accommodating to television.”
Matthew Pickut is a pastor in northern Indiana and a long time AFL fan. He also writes for his own website: The Brown Paper Blog. He graduated from Taylor University in Upland Indiana (class of `96) with degrees in Biblical Literature and Sociology as well as a healthy respect for the medicinal properties of coffee.
