Arena football mega-star gives Sharks an extra bite

Thursday January 21, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, FL - The Jacksonville Sharks added more than just a veteran quarterback this week with the announcement of Arena Football legend Aaron Garcia - they added fear in their opponents.

Aaron Garcia (6'1, 195 lbs), named the 11th greatest Arena Football player of all time, has been a fixture in the arena game for over fifteen years. Over the 24-year history of Arena Football, Garcia is in the top four (if not at the top) of nearly every quarterback statistic. Garcia was the first professional football player to throw for 100 touchdowns in a single season (a feat he repeated again in his illustrious career) and is one of only four professional football players in history to have thrown for more than 800 touchdowns. Garcia's 925 career touchdowns (881 passing, 44 rushing) are accompanied with over 23.5 miles (41,368 yards) of passing.

"Adding Aaron Garcia to the Sharks demonstrates our commitment to the people of Jacksonville to bring a championship to this great city," said head coach Les Moss. "He is not only one of the greatest to ever play the game, he's simply the most exciting player to watch. We are excited to get to camp and implement Aaron's skills with the talent we have at the receiver position."

Garcia was a stand out from the start. Under the tutelage of his head coach, and father, Garcia broke John Elway's California high school records for both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He did this in just two years. Garcia's throwing over 5,800 yards and nearly 60 touchdowns attracted college coaches from all over the country. Garcia became the starter for Washington State's pass-happy spread offense where he led the Pac-10 conference in pass-efficiency.

Following his collegiate career, Garcia found a home in the Arena Football League. After spending time with the Arizona Rattlers, Connecticut Coyotes and New Jersey Red Dogs, Aaron found a home with the Iowa Barnstormers - which became the New York Dragons in 2001. With the Dragons, Garcia became the first professional player to ever throw 600 touchdown passes over the span of his career, but that was just the beginning. He then became the first to throw for 700 nearly a year later. Garcia has also broken records running the ball, becoming the first arena quarterback to rush for 15 touchdowns in a season. This came the season after tying the record with 14 rushing touchdowns.

"In our inaugural season, there needed to be a solid foundation laid for a successful arena football team that shows our commitment to winning to this community," stated Managing Partner Jeff Bouchy. "Having the caliber of player like Aaron Garcia choose our franchise over all of the other cities in our league is a tribute to his character and his belief of what we are going to accomplish here. In the offensive driven game of arena football, a great quarterback is paramount to a team's success. There is no better quarterback than Aaron Garcia."

The Jacksonville Sharks are members of the Arena Football 1 (AF1) league. All home games will be played at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. The home season kicks off April 16th as the Sharks take on the Orlando Predators. Season tickets for the inaugural season of the Jacksonville Sharks are now available for as low as $45. To reserve your seats or for more information please call (904) 621-0700.