*Becoming a Seawolf

[woelkers]

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I am using this article series as a way to give back to some (unfortunately not all) of the rookies of the s18 class, who have been so very good to me. Part of that is simply exposure for those whose stories are being told, and part of that is splitting funds with those whose names and words are used herein. That said, I would like to give half of the earnings of this specific article to bex, who graciously gave me the time for an interview as part of this piece.

Previous Piece: Becoming a Solar Bear

The second stop on my journey has brought me to a seat at a dining room table set for four in a homey apartment in Norfolk, Virginia. To my right sits Vale, the middle brother, a student of international affairs at Georgetown, who has made his customary trip to Norfolk for the weekend; to my left, Kauri, the oldest of the trio, a freelance artist, and the evening’s chef. And, of course, seated directly across the table from me is none other than the subject of this piece, the queen of the class herself, Marcella Toriki (@bex), star running back for the Norfolk Seawolves. However, before I can begin asking questions, I am forced to address the roast lamb which Kauri has set in the center of the table; the Torikis are happy to talk, but they will only do so once the feast has begun. And, given the smell, I am more than happy to give in to this demand.

It is not until almost a third of the lamb has been carved that I actually have an opportunity to present my first question: how did the Toriki family come to be a football family? Before Marcella can even open her mouth, Kauri chimes in, “As per usual, It’s all Marce’s fault. She’s been convincing us to come along on all of her adventures since she was old enough to talk”. Marcella chuckles, elbowing Kauri to shut him up and parrying his jab, “He says that like he wasn’t the first person to jump on the football bandwagon. Kauri’s the one that packed up and moved to the U.S so he could come to all my games”. It is a point of interest to see this exchange; Marcella is clearly committed as much to family as she is to football. However, none of it answers my question; that duty ultimately falls to Vale, “We’re a rugby family first and foremost. We're New Zealanders, it's in our blood. But I think we were all curious enough to give football a chance. If it mattered to Marce, it was going to matter to us too. And we ended up loving it just as much as she does”.

Vale’s answer hit more closely to the point I was trying to play at, and, as he shoved another helping of lamb into his mouth, I posed my next question: where did this football journey begin for Marcella? The rugby background she comes from, while not so far removed from football, does not immediately suggest a path to the DSFL. Fortunately, she is fully prepared to revisit this story, “I had left New Zealand to study psychology at the University of Oregon. That’s where my love affair with football began. I got invited out one night by some friends, and that somehow turned into football by the river. It was all so new and exciting to me; I was obsessed pretty much instantly. It turned into me in my dorm room watching game film in between classes, and me going to all the Oregon home games. And I had the thought, ‘well, I can do that. So, let’s go for it’. I tried out for the Ducks without telling anyone. I just turned my phone off and went to work”.

At this point, Kauri, ever the comedian, decided to chime back in, “When we didn’t hear from her that weekend, we thought she’d died”. I chuckled with him, while Vale finished chewing so he could add his two cents, “When she finally answered our calls, she had her little speech prepared to tell us the good news and make sure she had our support”. And, of course, both Kauri and Vale concur that she did. By this point, Marcella was beaming; the support of her family, in particular her brothers, seems to be what she considers the first step to NSFL success. When I call attention to the influences I am seeing, she confirms my suspicions, “I’ve always looked up to my dad. He managed to raise four of us all on his own on top of running a business. He’s a workhorse, and he always taught us that people may be smarter than you, or faster than you or stronger than you. But you’re the one who decides if someone’s working harder than you. How can you look at someone who believes that to their core and not look up to them?”.

“Kauri’s a big role model for me too, though he hates when I say that,” she continues. “He’s always known what he wanted from life, and he chases after it. He keeps going, even when things seem impossible. I guess I feel inspired to get up and do my best for my family. For the longest time, that meant trying to set a good example for my brothers. Now that family is a whole lot bigger; it means showing up for my team too. Because the boys out there with me on the field are my brothers too. Making them proud is always going to be one of my biggest motivations in doing what I do. I want to embody commitment to hard work and to making my dreams come true keeps me coming back at the end of the day. Football has given me space to dedicate myself to something and to work for it. It pushes me to become the best version of myself. Football became part of my dream at Oregon, and that dream only becomes more vivid for me each time I take the field”.

Marcella’s time at Oregon was a time of great success for her, even considering the time she spent behind Ducky Donut on the depth chart, and despite having to split carries with Orion Drake her senior season. However, this was not the end of the road for her. “My time at Oregon was an affirmation that I had what it takes to succeed,” she remembers fondly, leaning back as she swallows the last bite of lamb, “I hadn’t really considered continuing on past college ball until one of my coaches at Oregon brought it up. That suggestion sat with me for a while before I brought it up to my family”. This time, Vale is the first to add to the conversation, “Dad expected her to go back to rugby after school,” to which Marcella responds, “But I already knew I was good at rugby. I wanted to prove that I was good at football. Not just good, but the best. There’s more of a challenge to it. Once I explained that, Dad gave me his blessing to keep going with it, and I declared for the DSFL draft the same day”.

At this point, I steer the conversation towards draft day, and am greeted with yet another chuckle from Kauri, “I think I was more nervous in the days leading up to the draft than Marce was”. Vale nods his head in agreement as Marcella rolls her eyes, considering her words as carefully as she considers her running lanes. “I knew I would go in the first half,” she says, and the confidence of her words now reflects that belief. “I was fairly certain I would go in the first three rounds. Obviously I hoped to go first round, but I knew there were still doubts about my ability to make it at the next level. I wasn’t going to get worked up about it. I knew I was going to give my all for whichever team chose me, and that's all that mattered”.

Of course, this topic naturally ties to the next: how does Marcella feel now that she is part of this league? And what is it like to be the beating heart of the Norfolk Seawolves? Kauri and Vale look at each other and burst out laughing; the humor, they later explain to me, centers around the fact that Marcella appears to be the only reason the team has a pulse half the time. Marcella gently slugs Kauri in the shoulder before giving her answer, “I love this league. I really feel like I’ve grown as a player because of it. It’s given me a chance to meet with some great guys too. I haven’t regretted my decision for a moment. As for being the ‘heart of the team,’ it’s equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. I love being out there doing my best knowing that my team is counting on me. My O-Line guys are so encouraging, and they do such hard work to make me look good. But I’m out there running my legs off every game trying to get us somewhere. It requires a hell of a lot of endurance to play the way Norfolk’s been asking me to. I stay in bed as long as possible on Mondays right now, because convincing my legs to move again takes some time after what I put them through on game day”. At this point, now that he’s gathered himself, Kauri comes to his sister’s aid, “As soon as she’s up, she’s in full prep mode. She loves the game so much and she doesn’t want to let anyone down, so she pushes through the pain. She's a stubborn one, so getting her to take breaks feels like a full-time job sometimes. But you can't do what she's doing without taking a moment to pause now and again”.

At this point, I turn the conversation to Marcella’s future; we know where she’s been, and where she is now, so the big thing to discuss is where she’s going. “I think my current work is going to have a great impact on my future,” she says proudly. “This season has proven that I can put in the work. That I’m going to show up and give it my all week after week. I hope that the NSFL teams who are watching are taking note. Because I’m bringing that work ethic with me to whoever picks me up in the draft. That said, the NSFL draft could go so many ways. This draft class has a lot of really promising players. I’d like to go early, within the first two rounds, ideally. But even if I do fall lower than that, I know it says more about the fantastic guys of my class and team need than it does about my potential as an athlete. Because I am one of the top running backs of this class. Yes, others have scored more touch downs than me, and others have a higher ypc. But if you look in context of the teams we’re on? I’m doing incredibly well for my circumstance”.

At this point, I notice Vale returning to the room; I clearly missed his exit somewhere in my conversation with Marcella and Kauri. However, I find him placing in front of me (and of course his siblings) pavlova, a point of excitement for the Toriki family. The attitude towards dessert in this family is clear: even if you’re full, you’re having some. While we dig into the most important course of the meal, I turn the conversation towards Marcella’s goals, both for now and for the future. She ponders this for a moment before responding, “For now, I’d like to finish my season in the DSFL as the season’s leader in rushing yards. I’m ahead at the moment, and I’d like to keep it that way. Long term? Well, I think we all want to win big in our careers. I want to help a team along to the Ultimus. I’d love to smash records for rushing yards. But most of all, I want to have a career that inspires others to pick up the ball. You don’t have to be a lifelong football fan to make it big, and I want to be proof of that”.

Next Piece: Becoming a Coyote

[Dylandeluxe]

Awesome piece! Hail the Queen!

[lamp_wizard]

Hail the Queen!

[bex]

The real secret to getting #thighsliketoriki is obviously a healthy portion of dessert in between running over a hundred yards basically every game.