*A Little Background on Erik Kirkland

[Pythonic]

PROVIDENCE, RI -- As with a majority of kids growing up in the New England region, Rhode Island Rams linebacker Erik Kirkland -- who was recently picked up on waivers by the Norfolk Seawolves -- always idolized the sports stars of the region: baseball’s David Ortiz, hockey star David Pastrnak, and of course the football legend, perhaps the greatest man to play the game, Tom Brady. Although Kirkland may now be playing for the Seawolves in the DSFL, he wasn’t always the football guy you might know him as. Growing up, Kirkland’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nick and Rosa Kirkland, had actually enlisted him in minor hockey leagues up until he began high school. Erik was a decent hockey player, but by no means was he good enough to make it into the higher tier leagues. Because of this, he ended up dropping hockey and picking up football. At the time, his only knowledge of football came from watching old recordings of the New England Patriots’ wins in the Super Bowl, thus over the summer preceding his freshman year of high school, he studied the game as much as possible. This included the rules, each position’s job, etc. He even signed up for a fantasy league with his old man. Eventually, when the time came to sign up for the team freshman year, he put himself down as a linebacker. He figured with his speed and agility, he could rush the quarterback as much as he wanted to sack with little regard for the opposing team’s linemen. Turns out, this little gambit worked in his favor. Most of his high school team’s linebackers were pure power, meat, and muscle with absolutely no guys who were as good as Erik on their feet. Kirkland’s coach figured ‘let’s give this kid a shot’ and put him in the starting lineup on the varsity team. Similar to Erik’s own, his coach’s gambit would, too, work out in the team’s favor. Kirkland ended up outperforming some of the junior and senior linebackers in terms of defensive stats. As he continued to improve throughout his high school years, helping his varsity team win a pair of back-to-back championships, he eventually got noticed by some scouts from both DSFL and ISFL teams. College was definitely on Kirkland’s mind as a backup plan, so he’d often tell those scouts, “Give me five years and then we’ll talk.” He ended up going through the collegiate football system, helping the University of Rhode Island Rams win the NCAA D-1 FCS championship in his senior year. After graduating from university later that same championship-winning year, Kirkland was picked up by the Norfolk Seawolves, and as of now, is headed to the Ultimini game. This kid has absolutely lucked out when it comes to life. We wish him even further good luck, and hope that he may be able to win the championship alongside the Norfolk Seawolves

[Jimi64]

Great stuff man. We've enjoyed having you around