Older player still chasing dream of youth
37-year-old joins Destroyers football tryout
Friday, July 07, 2006
Josh Moss
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle> </IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Patrick Stallworth, left, was one of the oldest players at a Destroyers tryout June 24. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Most of the 60 participants stretch and gab about where they played college football. A few chat on cell phones or listen to iPods. Others fiddle with their laptops.
Patrick Stallworth, a 37-yearold from Columbus, struggles to make his number — 111 — stick to his navy-blue sweatpants.
Stallworth is one of the oldest participants at the Columbus Destroyers’ open tryout, held June 24 in the Columbus Fieldhouse. He competes in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, vertical jump, bench press and position drills against participants in their 20s, such as Cole Haley, a former linebacker from Hofstra, and Steve Eastlake, a former left tackle from Cincinnati.
"Anybody has a chance to make (the team)," trainer Jamieson Giefer says. "But we do know that the body slows down regarding speed and power after age 30. The younger guys have the advantage."
The age gap doesn’t bother Stallworth. If statistics are any indication, maybe it should.
Last season, 28 was the average age of players in the Arena Football League, a year older than the average age of players in week one of the NFL season.
"It doesn’t matter how old you are," Stallworth says. "It matters what’s in your heart."
While some of the Destroyers hopefuls had sacks in high school and college, Stallworth never did. He did not make the football team as a high-school freshman, and then his father’s business went under.
"I couldn’t afford equipment," he says.
Soon after, Stallworth had a daughter. That responsibility, coupled with his family’s financial troubles, forced his love for football to the backburner. It waited there for more than 15 years.
Now his daughter is 16 and his son 5, allowing him to dedicate some time to football. He lifts weights and runs at least three times a week and plays defensive end for the Ohio Storm, a semipro team.
Stallworth, who paints and details collision cars for a living, wanted to try out for the Destroyers last October, but a pulled leg muscle kept him from performing at full strength. The Destroyers asked him to come back in June.
"There’s not a person on this staff who doesn’t understand that every person who comes to every tryout has a dream," coach Doug Kay said before the tryout. "Don’t think we don’t understand that."
The coaches split the participants into three groups, one group of linebackers, fullbacks and linemen — the big guys — and two groups of quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs — the little guys.
Stallworth is a big guyat 6 feet, and 240 pounds. His biceps and shoulders bulge beneath his black muscle shirt. If he played for the Destroyers, he would be a fullback and a linebacker.
The big guys head to the weight room, where Stallworth dips his hands into a bowl filled with chalk. He grinds it into his palms. Then he lowers his chin toward his chest and glares at the barbell. He is ready for the 225-pound bench press.
"Who wants to go next?" the spotter asks.
Stallworth jumps onto the bench, grips the bar and begins to breathe heavily. His chest swells as he lifts the weight.
Stallworth presses 15 times with ease. At 18 repetitions, he is slowing. At 20, he is screaming.
"Come on and get it, baby!" some of the other participants shout. "Eat this up! It’s light weight! "
Stallworth forces out 22 repetitions, one of the best performances of the day. The coaches don’t seem to notice.
"They’re just numbers out here," offensive coordinator Ken Matous says.
Before position drills, the coaches review the numbers’ performances and read the list of the approximately 40 men who make the cut. Number 111 is one of the first linebackers called.
Stallworth moves with the linebackers, linemen and fullbacks to a drill that simulates a game experience. Linemen block other linemen. Fullbacks try to block Stallworth.
A coach points at him; it is Stallworth’s turn to blitz.
He digs his cleats into the turf and stares at the tackling dummy with the same intensity he gave the barbell.
"Hut, hut, hut!" offensive assistant coach Chris MacKeown yells.
Stallworth explodes over the line and collides with the fullback. He pushes to his left, developing a clear path to the "quarterback." He charges and blasts the tackling dummy.
It is the last drill of the day, and the sweat trickling down Stallworth’s massive shoulders glistens. "I think I did all right," he says.
At the conclusion of the four-hour tryout, coaches talk with participants such as Matt Kubik, a two-year starter at quarterback for Louisiana Tech. "I figure I’ve still got a little playing left in me," says Kubik, 23. "I’ll give (the AFL) a shot." No coaches talk with Stallworth. But Stallworth believes he still has a lot of playing left. While some participants have played football competitively since grade school, he thinks his career is just starting. The oldest AFL player in 2006 was Darryl Hammond, a 39-year-old receiver and linebacker for the Nashville Kats. Hammond had 13 receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns. It would take Stallworth longer than it takes younger athletes to recover from an injury or an intense practice, Giefer said. But that does not mean Stallworth should give up on playing for an AFL team. Some tryout participants won’t play again until the Destroyers contact them about another workout. Stallworth won’t wait that long. "I have a (Storm) game later today," he says. He said he won’t get discouraged if the Destroyers do not invite him to another tryout. "I eat right. I work out. I get enough sleep," he says. "If the young guys aren’t doing those things, I’m going to beat them." Number 111 grabs his gym bag and leaves the fieldhouse. He has a football game to play. jmoss@dispatch.com
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