Semi-Pro

Throughout my life, I’ve been addicted.

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Some days, I’m good and don’t need it.

Other days, it was all I could think about.

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My identity was so intertwined in it that there were times I didn’t know who I was without it.

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It was the excuse to not worry about what my body looked like. The focus could be more so on eating, gaining weight, and working out hard. So I felt free.

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After high school, I thought I was done. But then I started experiencing hardship and I wanted it again. That’s how I ended up getting accepted into the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the first place. I didn’t think my SAT scores would be good enough to get accepted. But the addiction prompted me to apply to at least have a shot at it. More consideration and I didn’t end up needing it at the University of Hawaii……until I got lost and needed it to feel whole.

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A brief stint at North Idaho College with more work to find it, and then I did, at Mendocino College . It was short lived, and I got a bit of a fix, but the birth of my daughter cut it short.

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Growing up in Dillon, MT it was all a boy could dream of . The town creates the monster that a lot of us fall victim to. ?It’s not anyone’s fault but our own. Everyone dreams of being it, and then you get to live it, and it’s four years of bliss, fun, and lifelong lessons. Then it’s over…..and if you don’t keep doing it, you wonder just who you are and how to fit in in the world.

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“It” for me…..is football

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The game I love so much and still follow. The game where I learned to hone my work ethic, how to deal with pain, deal with adversity, and feel the rush of winning and the lows of losing. Discipline, routine, and consistency. Physical fitness and the importance of nutrition . Delayed gratification. Camaraderie in the locker room, lifelong friendships with teammates and coaches, and above all….how to KEEP GOING.

Football transcends every fiber of my body and IS why I am who I am.

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In 2008 when I returned to Coeur d’Alene, ID (Cd'A) there was a massive void in my life. College football was over in a snap, I was about to be a father, starting a career in higher education , and I longed for IT (football).

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Living in Cd’A for a second time after my freshman and sophomore years of college it didn’t seem realistic to go back to a school and play football. I had bigger responsibilities and THAT was one of the saddest realizations of my life.

Despite that, I did hold out a little hope and reached out to Carroll College in Helena, MT where one of the Homies , Andy, was heading into his Sophomore Year of eligibility. He was about the be the starting Center for the team. In the 2006 season, Andy redshirted, and in the 2007 season, he bounced between left and right Guard and Center playing sparingly. But his development on the sideline was done and he was about to be a permanent fixture on the field for the Saints. Living with Andy and his then girlfriend (now wife) Blair was an idea. But it was too expensive and far fetched. I also just couldn’t bring myself to move back to Montana.

I reached out to Willamette University, who recruited me in the beginning of this process, but I didn’t hear much back.

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So I accepted my fate, started working, kept going to school, and prepared for the arrival of my daughter.

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It was during this time that I discovered Semi Pro football.

Back then there was a team that played down the road from me in Rathdrum, ID called the "State Line Miners." I followed them for a few years, reached out to the team, went to a game, and since I had to “pay to play” and didn’t have any extra money, I didn’t and couldn’t pursue this football avenue any further.

I then decided that maybe I could be a coach? Briefly, as a junior in high school I considered being a football coach for a career. So I reached out Coeur d’Alene High School and Lake City High School. After emails with both schools, I interviewed at Cd’A High, and started attending ‘Viking Army’ in the mornings for a couple of weeks. I was there long enough that they started calling me “coach” which was surreal. Pretty quickly thereafter, I was able to get a full-time job and I had to put football on the shelf again.

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Then 6 years went by.

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Kiwi, my daughter, was 5. My career had progressed , I finished college, and was ready to try again. In doing some research, I discovered the Spokane Wolfpack. A lot of the guys I remember seeing as players for the Miners were now playing for this team or were coaches/owners of the Spokane, WA based organization. ?

I reached out, submitted the only film that I had from Mendocino College, and attended a practice. The owner, Travis, said I could play if I could pay. Money was tight, but not as tight as it was in previous years, and I decided “I’m going to go for it,” bought all of the football equipment, and joined the team.

Training and eating became fun and I was motivated and inspired again. At 26 years old in 2013, I was mildly embarrassed thinking people would judge me as a “has been” or “living in the past.” Don’t get me wrong, I was both, but it was also a moment where I could get “it” again. Competing, training, being physical, and violent. It all felt so right……and yet it was so…..painful.

The physical part of getting back into football was a humbling process. My muscle memory and athleticism was there….but also……wasn’t. It took a lot of time and effort to get back into game playing shape and the entire time it entailed pain.

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Despite the pain, I got to play with a really good group of guys. We had built a good culture and locker room. There were a ton of great athletes on the team ranging from 18 years old fresh out of high school to early 40’s where some of the vets had been playing for years in the minor leagues, also known as “semi-pro.” The risk of injury was there, the trips for away games were long (we basically lived in Wenatchee, WA with all the games we played against our rival; Wenatchee Valley Rams), but playing again, putting on a uniform, and banging heads was so fun.

We wore navy blue helmets and pants with baby blue jerseys. I, of course, selected number 9 and was so happy to be wearing my number again.

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In 2013, the team finished the season 5 – 2. We went to the Washington Football League (WFL) Championship game losing by one point to the Rams. BUT, we had created such a tight group and played so well together that it was motivating to do nothing more than win a championship in 2014.

I also was able to get involved with writing content for the team on Facebook as well as became a founding board member and Secretary of the company that owned the Spokane Wolfpack, Impact Motion Sports, LLC.

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Fully enthralled in the culture and lifestyle of Semi Pro Football, I couldn’t wait for my 2nd season. The training was more refined, I broke myself down, and built myself up. Still in pain, but not as much as I got stronger and was used to moving like an athlete again.

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Dawning number 9 for season 2, we had a good core of returning players and the culture was dialed in. We had enough players to even field 2 teams (Alpha Squad and Omega Squad) that played during the non-conference games to get people playing time. It truly was the height of the era. ?

In 2014, we made another run at the Championship, going 6 – 2 on the year. I was even able to play in Montana for the first time since 2005. We again were matched up with Wenatchee Valley for the WFL title and lost in a last second field goal. This was absolutely heart breaking after all the work we put in.

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After two great years, a lot of time, effort, training, playing in the games, and working as a board member I opted to focus on my second year of graduate school and my family.

The Spokane Wolfpack was a love and passion of mine, but I was growing up, and had other responsibilities. The balance of it all just wasn’t conducive to football. So I stepped away.

4 years later

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I had left my career in higher education, started recruiting , and had a much needed break up with my then Fiancé after a 6 year relationship. With a fresh start on life and a reset…..I decided…..I wanted to play football again.

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The season was starting soon and I was working out but not truly training to play football. “I’ll just go back and try it” I thought. THAT was painful all over again. All the aches and pains that the game brings were back and returned harder than ever for me at 31 years old.

When I stepped in, there was mostly an entire team of new guys. Ownership/coaching was relatively the same but it was different. The uniforms were different too. And when it came to number selection, I got first pick as a “veteran” and grabbed number 9. As I selected 9, a kid quit the team because that was HIS number and he walked off the field pouting. That was the mindset of this group; “If I don’t get my way, I’m not playing.” I tried to work with the kid and negotiate a number switch.

My gear and family was all number 9 oriented from 2013 and 2014. I asked for him to buy me some different gear (a modest amount nothing crazy) with a new number on it and I would gladly switch to another number. He threw a fit, the team threw a fit, and with my life circumstances it was too much. Jesus why was this even a thing!?

For the sake of the team, I caved, and grabbed number 7. Close enough, but different. I thought it was worth a try and best to keep peace with my teammates.

As the season began, it wasn’t the same fanfare as before, the culture was bad, and the team sucked. Don’t get me wrong, they were good athletes and some of my teammates were nice or from seasons before. ?But most the group was entitled. Playing in junior college and Semi-Pro you get an interesting mix of ability. Some guys are terrible and others are so good they should be somewhere else (Division 1 or playing professionally). Then you have all of the "in-between." I was in the "in between” group for sure, I will say at times though, I was on the upper end. The combination of the culture, my personal life, how much pain I was in, and how poorly I was playing; at 4 games into the season…..I walked away.

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This time……. for the final time.

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I think I was the guy who tried to come back one too many times. The ’13 and ’14 seasons were really fun. I got to play Receiver on offense, make catches, and play on special teams. In ’18, I mostly played a hybrid Receiver/Running Back position and got some catches/runs, played a little special teams, and even played on defense at Cornerback which resulted in a dislocated shoulder while making a tackle. Had I started training in 2018 and played in 2019 things may have been different. But that would have just delayed the inevitable.

The team in ’18 went on to make a playoff run after a shaky start (I was there for a 1 – 3 record).

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Semi-Pro gave me the opportunity to feel like I had played enough football in my life. It gave me the opportunity to compete again and helped me feel complete as a person. But it also humbled me and beat me up to a point where I just didn’t want to come back each season feeling worse and worse. I made the front page of the Cd’A Press , traveled all over Washington, got to go back to Montana, be with a group of guys in the locker room, and work hard.

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No regrets and nothing was left in the tank.

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It was an anti-climactic end to a solid career (solid in my humble opinion of course). But I think I needed those four games in 2018 to be pushed into closing the playing chapter of football in my life.

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Now, I have closure in that sense. And even bigger, I don’t have a “what if.”

I did it.

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-- Alex de Golia

Al Ki (al - KAI) Consultants

2013 Schedule/Results (5-2):?

Apr 6 @ Wenatchee Valley Rams???????????? 28-19

Apr 13 @ Waitsburg Elite??????? 2-10

Apr 20 @ Wenatchee Valley Rams????????? 6-16

Apr 27 - Snohomish County Vikings??????? 44-6

May 4 @ Palouse Thunder????? 19-15

June 8 @ Waitsburg Elite *???? 37-31

June 15 @ Wenatchee Valley Rams **? 6-7

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2014 Schedule/Results (6-2):?

Apr 5 @ Flathead Monsters??? 69-6

Apr 12 @ Palouse Thunder???? 63-14

Apr 19 @ Wenatchee Valley Rams????????? 37-12

May 3 @ Waitsburg Elite???????? 42-0

May 17 @ Palouse Thunder * 44-14

May 24 - Wenatchee Valley Rams **????? 34-37

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2018 Schedule/Results (4-6):?

May 19 - Tri City Rage?????????????? 8-36

June 2 @ Thurston County Mayhem????? 8-54

June 9 @ Cowlitz County Cobras????????????? 30-13

June 16 - Wenatchee Valley Rams?????????? 6-41

June 23 - Arlington Grizzlies?? 32-0

July 14 @ South Sound Nighthawks??????? 26-35

July 21 - Pacific Northwest Cavaliers?????? W FFT

July 28 - Renton Ravens *??????? 48-6

Aug 4 @ Thurston County Mayhem *???? 20-14

Aug 11 @ Wenatchee Valley Rams *????? 0-52

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