Ringgold High School's football season ended on a positive note with a 35-0 win over Ambridge.
With a 4-6 final record, from a strictly won-lost standpoint and shy of a playoff berth, the season ended in disappointing fashion. But, if they were paying attention, there's much more than just X's and O's that Rams football players should have learned from assistant coach Nate Forse this season, and it had something, yet nothing, to do with Youtube.
Specifically, Forse's intensity and determination should have made an impression on the scholastic players.
Forse, a 2002 Laurel Highlands grad, where he earned all-conference honors on the field and a B'nai B'rith Scholar/Athlete Award, spent parts of two seasons with the West Virginia Mountaineers, prior to transferring to California University of Pennsylvania. As a wide receiver and wingback, Forse earned first team All-PSAC recognition as a sophomore and senior, second team honors as a junior and played in the Cactus Bowl, a Division II all-star game. Forse graduated from Cal in 2007 with a degree in Sports Management.
But his Sports Management career path will be being put on hold sometime early next month when Forse, 25, will work out under the watchful eyes of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
From March through August of 2009, Forse, 6-4, 220-pounds, played wide receiver for the Green Bay Blizzard in the Arena II Football League, earning first-team all-conference honors. His numbers included 28 touchdowns among his more than 130 receptions.
Playing indoors in hockey arenas on a field 50 yards long and 28 yards wide - half the size of a regulation outdoor field - with end zones curved because of the curvature of the rinks, well, as Forse says, "It took some getting used to. You have to run pass routes differently and the speed of the game is different because of the shorter field. Ninety percent of the game is passing and it's a receiver's dream. It's much more compact than a normal field and there are more opportunities to catch and make plays." In one indoor season in Arena II, Forse gained more yards than in his three-year career at Cal.
Playing at such a high level of football was an exciting opportunity, Forse noted, especially since 12 of his teammates had been at NFL camps.
"But the entire opportunity helped me grow as a player and person," he said. "I learned more about defensive backs and how they cover, and I've tried to transfer that knowledge to the defensive backs at Ringgold, in addition to what I learned as a receiver regarding pass routes and dealing with those defenders. Our players at Ringgold saw that I practice what I preach. They saw first-hand that what we coaches are trying to teach them are things that work."
It may have taken some time, but eventually Forse's players became aware that he played in Arena II.
"Word leaked out and they found my highlight tape on YouTube," he laughed.
"With Nate's background in football, he brought instant credibility with him as a coach, and it was easy for our players to relate to him," Ringgold athletic director and head football coach Lloyd Price said. "From his experience on the college and professional levels, he was exposed to the highest levels of techniques. His experience proved more than beneficial in explaining those techniques to not only our receivers, but our entire offense, and his overall knowledge and understanding of the game rubbed off on our players. They were able to see what may be accomplished through hard work and dedication."
After post-college tryouts with Canadian Football League teams as well as other Arena teams, Forse settled with the Blizzard. However, when the league temporarily ceased operations, he found a position as substitute teacher at Ringgold and joined Price's staff.
But eager to get back between the lines, Forse, who was heavily involved with Rams' practices, has continued working out at Cal, where he is a volunteer strength coach. His desire and work ethic have paid off, as Steelers scout Phil Kreidler contacted Forse about the tryout, set at the Steelers facility on Pittsburgh's South Side. Originally scheduled for late October or early November, Forse's tryout was pushed back to early December.
Kreidler scouts both college and professional players and scouted Forse at California.
"I got to know him from seeing and meeting him at practices at Cal and from my previous pro day combine for individual players at Duquesne University," said Forse. Along with players from Duquesne, Slippery Rock, California and several West Virginia colleges, Forse worked out at Duquesne's Rooney Field in front of scouts from 15 NFL teams.
In his audition with the Steelers, Forse will run the 40-yard sprint, "do a short shuttle run, three-cone drill and run routes and different receiver's drills to see how I move to catch the ball," he said.
But, in spite of what transpires in front of the Steelers personnel, Forse's football career will not be put on hold. He has been invited to work out with the CFL's Hamilton Tigercats and recently signed with the Milwaukee Iron of Arena Football I. Forse's season with the Iron will begin in March, 2010.
"I'm having another opportunity to continue my pro career," he said, "and I'm excited about the chance."
November 22, 2009