The Team

2009 NAFL FOOTBALL

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March 20, 2009 Leader/Kalkaskan Story

By Greg Gielczyk Sports Writer
TRAVERSE CITY -- Coach Daniel Skibbe brought the playbook for the Traverse City Wolves with him to practice last Thursday night. It was several pages just stapled together.Yet it made an impact with the players. They could feel the season drawing closer. But there's only so much Skibbe can put in with the Wolves, chomping at the bit to kick off their inaugural season in the North American Football League, still practicing indoors. Although the temperature had risen into the 40's, snow and ice melting in the process, anther storm that blew through the area Monday (and another that was due to hit Tuesday) kept everyone's spirits a bit down.
Steven Tyler Konsella, a quarterback at Kalkaska High School three years ago, is trying to make the starting lineup with the Wolves and he'd like to show off his arm.But that's hard to do when the ball hits one of the beams at the TBAYS facility, and the receiver slows to a trot and watches it bounce off the artificial surface."It gives us a good basis for cardio and conditioning," Skibbe said. "But, as far as running our offense ... we cannot in here. "And it gives the defense a little self-confidence, maybe. But, it does hamper us on the offensive side."
The players are still put through the paces so they are in prime physical shape when they do take it outside. Just when that will be is anyone's guess right now with the weather fluctuating so maddengingly from warm, spring-like temperatures to snow and cold. When the Wolves go outside, it'll be with full pads and helmets. Everything will be full bore from that time until they open the season on the road in Canada on July 11. It's under 134 days now until then, so the Wolves are eager to get outdoors and start putting in their offense. Skibbe did receive the schedules from the league last week, but they're still tentative and won't be released until March 15.
Formerly from the Rapid City, Alden area, Konsella is one of the offensive skill position players anxious to get outside. He graduated from Kalkaska in 2005. He attended Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City for one year, taking up graphic design. At the time of the first Wolves' tryout, Konsella was working to help the family out and not going to school. When he made the first cut, Konsella decided to stick it out and see where it took him. He's still working. "I was thinking about going back to college and playing ball, and saw the tryout come around and thought I'd give it a shot," Konsella said. "I gave it what I got. "A couple of days later, I got a call saying to come back. So I was pretty excited. I made it to mini-camp, and I was one of the starting quarterbacks. That went really well. "Everything just clicked, and I had a great time. Threw a lot of first downs, and connected with one of my buddies, Aaron Bennett, for a 65-yard touchdown pass. That was pretty exciting. It was awesome." Konsella says the Wolves are eager to show people what they can do. Naturally, winning games is the goal. "We want to come firing right out," Konsella said. "We're working as hard as we can right now. We want to surprise people. I think we have the talent to do it. "A lot of high school ball around here they run constantly, and they don't pass as much as they should. "It's going to be a lot different. A lot more passing. A lot more excitement for the crowd. I think it's something that's going to go off really good. It's something I love to work with." The Wolves are running a lot of shot-gun formations in practice, and that's right down Konsella's alley. It promotes better pass protection, and lets the offensive linemen get a better jump on blocking the defensive rushers.
"I'm tired of staying indoors. I'd love to be outside. I can't wait until all the snow goes away. In a small area, you try to throw deep bombs and you start hitting the net and stuff. I just can't wait until we can get out and show a little more talent that we have." The Wolves can't wait to get it on.
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LEAGUE STANDINGS

Congratulations to the Indianapolis Tornados for winning the 2008 NAFL1 Championship!

Indianapolis Tornados 45

San Diego 35

Check back during the 2009 season for league stats here.

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