Thursday, January 22, 2009

Subelka keeping pro dreams alive in new football league at Team Alabama

by Kenneth Lassiter

    Laurence “Larry” Subelka is keeping lifelong dreams of a potential pro sports career alive with an opportunity to take part in a fledgling football league.
    Subelka, 24, was recently drafted as a fullback by Team Alabama in the United National Gridiron League, which is set to begin play next month. The team is simply “Team Alabama” at this point because the league is still ironing out the mascot situation.
    Subelka is a 2002 graduate of Oskaloosa High School, where he stood out in football as a running back, wrestling, where he was a multiple-time state qualifier, and track. He went to Dodge City Community College to play football but was felled in his sophomore year by torn ankle ligaments. He had surgery in January 2004 and then transferred to the University of Louisiana-Monroe in the fall of that year. He was there for two years before transferring to Avila University in Kansas City, Mo., where he played the 2006 and 2007 seasons.While at Avila he had 192 rushes for 917 yards, for a 4.8-yards per carry average and 7 touchdowns. He also had 19 catches for 135 yards and 2 TDs.
    Subelka exhausted his eligibility in 2007 and spent the last year getting closer to finishing his degree in social sciences, as he still has one semester to go. He hopes to finish that online while making a go of it in the UNGL, which is set up with the hopes of eventually becoming a sort of minor league to the NFL and Canadian Football League.
    In December, Subelka got connected with an agent in Florida and started shopping himself around on europlayers.com in hopes of maybe catching on in a European league. He also sent in a highlight film to UNGL officials and earned a spot in the player pool for the inaugural league draft. The league, which is based in Birmingham, Ala., is initially set for eight franchises with a business plan to eventually expand to 22 teams. The initial franchises are set up in traditional football hotbeds including Alabama, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, the Carolinas, and Virginia.
    After getting drafted earlier this month, Subelka was waiting to hear from Alabama officials as to when and where to report for training camp, as UNGL season games are set to begin in February. The season runs through April and concludes prior to the NFL draft. According to the league website at www.ungleague.com, training camp was set to begin Friday. Subelka was one of three players drafted at fullback by Alabama along with players from the University of Northern Iowa and the University of North Alabama. Subelka said the league tried to keep team rosters regional as much as possible, from what he knows.
    “I just want to get down to Alabama and see how it works out,” Subelka said. He has been working out since finishing up his college career to stay in shape. He got a tryout with the Kansas City Brigade in the Arena Football League last year and got a call back for a second tryout before a torn quadriceps muscle in his leg ended that opportunity. “I want to at least give it a look. They say a lot of scouts will come and watch the games.”
    The fact the AFL cancelled its 2009 season has mixed meanings to the UNGL. In one respect, it’s an example of another smaller professional league that was done in at least partially by the economy, but it also means less competition for attention for the UNGL. Online articles have speculated on the potential of AFL players coming over to the UNGL.
    Being drafted as a fullback has made Subelka realize that he needs to improve on his blocking skills, as he said he is used to being more of a back that is leaned on for rushing yardage. He said he hopes he can make the team and be used as an extra weapon catching passes out of the backfield or in short yardage situations.
    “I’m not as used to being a blocking back, so I’ve got work to do there,” he said.
    He isn’t the only one in the family with football skills. His brother, Kaleb Lawrence, played at Tonganoxie High School and is playing NCAA Division II football. A cousin, David Williams, was a wrestling standout at OHS and is pursuing a career in mixed martial arts fighting. Subelka said he worked out with Williams for a while with thoughts of maybe starting his own MMA career but decided he wasn’t ready to leave football behind.
    “This has been my one goal since I was 10 years old, to be a professional player,” Subelka said. “I’m gonna keep going until my body tells me I can’t go. Hopefully this works out where I can get a pro tryout, for the NFL or CFL, wherever.”