I know that the vast majority of you have already gone through your first DFSL draft, your players have been in my players shoes. Maybe it was many seasons ago or just this past draft, but the most of you have felt what l feel right now, wondering where my players career will start. Who will take a chance on a brand new user / player and when will that chance happen?
Coming from the SHL, I felt that I would have been prepared for this, I’ve already be the new guy on the block, I’ve already sat there and tried to figure out what teams might need my player, asked myself, have I done enough to make my player get noticed? So, going into this draft, I thought I’d be cool, calm and collected. That is not the case, just like my first ever simulation draft, I can’t stop my mind from wondering when my players name will be called and by who. It’s an exciting time and I’m a really big fan of it!
Enough of me babbling, here is an interview with my player Vincent Jones Jr, a S26 player getting ready for the DSFL draft.
Q. We are here sitting with one of the S26 draftees, who is eagerly awaiting to hear which DSFL team has selected him in this seasons draft.
A. Eagerly might be a bit of an understatement, I’m nervous as hell! I just can’t wait to find out where I end up so I can officially get my career started.
Q. No doubt! Although you have had a little taste of what’s it like being in the DSFL already.
A. I guess I kind of have. When I first declared my intent to join the S26 draft class, last season was still underway, and the Dallas Birddogs decided to snag me off the waiver wire.
Q. So how were your first impressions on the DSFL?
A. First impressions were amazing! Everyone in Dallas was super welcoming, they all helped me out quite a bit. I think everyone knows that it’s an odd feeling being the new kid on the block. The Birddogs went out of their way to help me out. Great group of people there, solid team all around. They have and still are, helping me out whenever I have a question about what the hell I should be doing.
Q. Think that might be your destination?
A. I have no clue! I would be very happy to be an official part of the team, but I’m ready to give my everything to any team that wants to draft me. I am not playing favourites and I won’t, it’s just not in my nature.
Q. Have you had the chance to meet any other teams since the season ended?
A. I have, I’ve actually spoken with most teams, they reached out to me to see how I was doing and how I was acclimatizing to the league. I was really impressed, every single person I’ve spoken with has seemed really genuine. I really think I made the right call when I decided to throw my name in the DSFL draft. I’m very excited to get started.
Q. Any teams that you’ve talked with or spent time with stick out to you.
A. They all do, like I said earlier, everyone I’ve come in contact with has been amazing. I was lucky enough to actually be invited in to the London Royals locker room the night that they won the Ultimini Trophy. They are a great group there too, they were very welcoming to my new face and went out of their way to welcome me. It was awesome to be able to see their team celebrate their victory. It’s something that I am hoping to be able to do with which ever team selects me. I’ve always known that that is my ultimate goal when I join and DSFL team and I’ve got the same goal when I go to an ISFL team. Winning the top prize with my team is all I want to achieve. And being able to see a team celebrate right after doing that same thing really made me want it even more.
Q. How do you think you’ll be able to achieve that goal for yourself?
A. By working hard every single day. I know it’s not going to be easy, and a lot of things will have to go right to meet this goal, but I’m not going to give up on it easily. And I want every team in the DSFL to know that, if they decided to select me in the upcoming draft, they are going to get a player and team mate, that will do everything in their power to help the team win games and ultimately, win the Ultimini Trophy. I’ll never stop putting the work in and I am willing to do whatever is needed to help the team and my team mates out.
Q. How has your experience in other locker rooms been?
A. Again, it’s been amazing. I was contacted by Kansas City’s scout early on had a real great chat with him and got to get a walk through of their locker room, meet some very nice people there, they really seem like they have some solid team in Kansas City. One of Portland’s representatives sent me a message and one of their GMs reached out to me as well. Had good talks with both of them, seems like we have some very similar philosophies, which is nice. Minnesota’s GM got a hold of me too, their locker room is jokes! They seem to make their own fun sometimes, which is awesome, and I learned a lot about milk preferences! I also got to talk with the Norfolk folks, had some great chats with one of their scouts and defensive captain. I’ve been having some good times with them, fun group they’ve got there. And just today I chatted with Tijuana’s GM, had another very good chat with him. All the teams I’ve spent time with seem to be top notch, I’d be lucky to end up in any of these places. Hell, I’m going to be super happy no matter where I end up, I just want to play football! But I can’t thank those teams enough who brought me in the meet them, it meant a lot and it’s been great getting to know everyone.
Q. Speaking of playing football, the Prospect Bowl is coming up next week, any thoughts on that?
A. To be honest, I don’t really know too much about it. I probably should ask around, shouldn’t I! If it is what it sounds like, I reckon all of us DSFL prospects will be playing a game together to show off our stuff. I think I would enjoy that quite a bit. I would like to be able to see and play with the players that will be with me throughout my career. I’ve meet a few of the prospects in some of the locker rooms but it will be nice to meet the rest and see how we all stack up against each other.
Q. I assume you’ll be suiting up in the linebacker position.
A. Ya, most likely. That’s what I entered the league as, but as I’ve told all of the teams that have asked, I’d definitely be open to a position change if it suited the team and my career path. The linebacker position is where I practiced the most at, but I have moved all around the field. I’d be comfortable and open to play most positions, on both sides of the field.
Q. Will your dad Vinnie be making an appearance at the Prospect Bowl?
A. I don’t think so, he’s a pretty busy man. He is going to try and make it for the DSFL draft, hoping that works out, I’ve been focussing so much on getting ready for the league, we haven’t seen each other very much.
Q. I read a quote of his recently, it was “Winning doesn’t really matter, as long as you win”. Do you feel the same way as your father?
A. Hahaha! I don’t think I’ve seen that quote before! My dad was a very, very competitive player in his soccer days, he would do anything he thought that might help his team win. It didn’t always turn out that way for him, but he always did his best, and he always wanted to win. So ya, I guess in that sense I’m exactly like my dad, I will do everything I can to help my team win, that’s just the way I was raised.
Q. Well, I think that about wraps it up for us. I really appreciate you taking the time to sit down with us, I wish you best of luck at the draft. Hope it all goes well for you. Hopefully we can sit down again after the draft to talk about the upcoming season for whichever team you’ll be playing for.
A. That would be great! Looking forward to seeing who calls out my name. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Although I know I’ll be happy wherever I go. Thanks for this, and let’s definitely chat again before the season kicks off.
Thanks for reading!
Word count - 1565
Coming from the SHL, I felt that I would have been prepared for this, I’ve already be the new guy on the block, I’ve already sat there and tried to figure out what teams might need my player, asked myself, have I done enough to make my player get noticed? So, going into this draft, I thought I’d be cool, calm and collected. That is not the case, just like my first ever simulation draft, I can’t stop my mind from wondering when my players name will be called and by who. It’s an exciting time and I’m a really big fan of it!
Enough of me babbling, here is an interview with my player Vincent Jones Jr, a S26 player getting ready for the DSFL draft.
Q. We are here sitting with one of the S26 draftees, who is eagerly awaiting to hear which DSFL team has selected him in this seasons draft.
A. Eagerly might be a bit of an understatement, I’m nervous as hell! I just can’t wait to find out where I end up so I can officially get my career started.
Q. No doubt! Although you have had a little taste of what’s it like being in the DSFL already.
A. I guess I kind of have. When I first declared my intent to join the S26 draft class, last season was still underway, and the Dallas Birddogs decided to snag me off the waiver wire.
Q. So how were your first impressions on the DSFL?
A. First impressions were amazing! Everyone in Dallas was super welcoming, they all helped me out quite a bit. I think everyone knows that it’s an odd feeling being the new kid on the block. The Birddogs went out of their way to help me out. Great group of people there, solid team all around. They have and still are, helping me out whenever I have a question about what the hell I should be doing.
Q. Think that might be your destination?
A. I have no clue! I would be very happy to be an official part of the team, but I’m ready to give my everything to any team that wants to draft me. I am not playing favourites and I won’t, it’s just not in my nature.
Q. Have you had the chance to meet any other teams since the season ended?
A. I have, I’ve actually spoken with most teams, they reached out to me to see how I was doing and how I was acclimatizing to the league. I was really impressed, every single person I’ve spoken with has seemed really genuine. I really think I made the right call when I decided to throw my name in the DSFL draft. I’m very excited to get started.
Q. Any teams that you’ve talked with or spent time with stick out to you.
A. They all do, like I said earlier, everyone I’ve come in contact with has been amazing. I was lucky enough to actually be invited in to the London Royals locker room the night that they won the Ultimini Trophy. They are a great group there too, they were very welcoming to my new face and went out of their way to welcome me. It was awesome to be able to see their team celebrate their victory. It’s something that I am hoping to be able to do with which ever team selects me. I’ve always known that that is my ultimate goal when I join and DSFL team and I’ve got the same goal when I go to an ISFL team. Winning the top prize with my team is all I want to achieve. And being able to see a team celebrate right after doing that same thing really made me want it even more.
Q. How do you think you’ll be able to achieve that goal for yourself?
A. By working hard every single day. I know it’s not going to be easy, and a lot of things will have to go right to meet this goal, but I’m not going to give up on it easily. And I want every team in the DSFL to know that, if they decided to select me in the upcoming draft, they are going to get a player and team mate, that will do everything in their power to help the team win games and ultimately, win the Ultimini Trophy. I’ll never stop putting the work in and I am willing to do whatever is needed to help the team and my team mates out.
Q. How has your experience in other locker rooms been?
A. Again, it’s been amazing. I was contacted by Kansas City’s scout early on had a real great chat with him and got to get a walk through of their locker room, meet some very nice people there, they really seem like they have some solid team in Kansas City. One of Portland’s representatives sent me a message and one of their GMs reached out to me as well. Had good talks with both of them, seems like we have some very similar philosophies, which is nice. Minnesota’s GM got a hold of me too, their locker room is jokes! They seem to make their own fun sometimes, which is awesome, and I learned a lot about milk preferences! I also got to talk with the Norfolk folks, had some great chats with one of their scouts and defensive captain. I’ve been having some good times with them, fun group they’ve got there. And just today I chatted with Tijuana’s GM, had another very good chat with him. All the teams I’ve spent time with seem to be top notch, I’d be lucky to end up in any of these places. Hell, I’m going to be super happy no matter where I end up, I just want to play football! But I can’t thank those teams enough who brought me in the meet them, it meant a lot and it’s been great getting to know everyone.
Q. Speaking of playing football, the Prospect Bowl is coming up next week, any thoughts on that?
A. To be honest, I don’t really know too much about it. I probably should ask around, shouldn’t I! If it is what it sounds like, I reckon all of us DSFL prospects will be playing a game together to show off our stuff. I think I would enjoy that quite a bit. I would like to be able to see and play with the players that will be with me throughout my career. I’ve meet a few of the prospects in some of the locker rooms but it will be nice to meet the rest and see how we all stack up against each other.
Q. I assume you’ll be suiting up in the linebacker position.
A. Ya, most likely. That’s what I entered the league as, but as I’ve told all of the teams that have asked, I’d definitely be open to a position change if it suited the team and my career path. The linebacker position is where I practiced the most at, but I have moved all around the field. I’d be comfortable and open to play most positions, on both sides of the field.
Q. Will your dad Vinnie be making an appearance at the Prospect Bowl?
A. I don’t think so, he’s a pretty busy man. He is going to try and make it for the DSFL draft, hoping that works out, I’ve been focussing so much on getting ready for the league, we haven’t seen each other very much.
Q. I read a quote of his recently, it was “Winning doesn’t really matter, as long as you win”. Do you feel the same way as your father?
A. Hahaha! I don’t think I’ve seen that quote before! My dad was a very, very competitive player in his soccer days, he would do anything he thought that might help his team win. It didn’t always turn out that way for him, but he always did his best, and he always wanted to win. So ya, I guess in that sense I’m exactly like my dad, I will do everything I can to help my team win, that’s just the way I was raised.
Q. Well, I think that about wraps it up for us. I really appreciate you taking the time to sit down with us, I wish you best of luck at the draft. Hope it all goes well for you. Hopefully we can sit down again after the draft to talk about the upcoming season for whichever team you’ll be playing for.
A. That would be great! Looking forward to seeing who calls out my name. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Although I know I’ll be happy wherever I go. Thanks for this, and let’s definitely chat again before the season kicks off.
Thanks for reading!
Word count - 1565
