After rumbling through the obstacle course in Brooklyn at the preliminary Slamball tryout, I stood with my hands on my hips as Mason Gordon and Pat Croce congratulated me on making it to the big stage of tryouts/training camp down here in Bradenton, Florida. Though I was thinking about throwing up at that point, I made sure to listen to everything they said. 1. If I came to Florida, would I make the jumpshots that I bricked after trying to run through a 275 lbs. man with a blocking pad during the obstacle course? 2. Would I be absolutely fearless flying through the air and going head-to-head with Slamball robots who make the aforementioned mountain man look like a wuss?
Over this past week of NFL, er, I mean Slamball training camp, I’ve put in work trying to retrain myself to trust the tramps even as I come down from 12 feet above the ground instead of looking like a cat being thrown out of a window. Gerrie “Crucial” Herring, a prolific Slamball scorer who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, has been incredibly generous with his time and energy to show me how to get big air off the tramp on bounce after bounce. But I’d say I still have a lot of those cat-like tendencies.
And with thirty-something veterans and fifty-something rookies still alive after a couple of cuts, it’s so easy to pick out the guys who still doubt themselves on the tramps. That’s one amazing thing about Slamball: it might be the most physically demanding sport this side of Aussie rules football (I heard they’re pretty tough), but the mental aspect of the game is by far its toughest component. Within these 100 feet-by-60 feet plexiglass walls, there is no comfort zone. That’s why there are stories about supremely talented basketball players who dominate within the 94-by-50 rectangle, but can’t cut it in Slamball because they’re mentally out of their element. Hoop Dreams’ Arthur Agee holds the record for fewest minutes in a Slamball season.
So even though I made good on promise No-1 to Pat and Mason by making some open jumpers, I couldn’t completely come through on No-2. And that’s an all-or-nothing deal. Either you’re gritting your teeth and cocking your arm back while trying to spike a dunk through, or you’re going home. The good thing is that I won’t have to work through nightmares of facing-off against the Slamball monsters like George Byrd, Adam Hooker or Dion Mays. The bad thing is that I’m headed home.
But please stay tuned to Dime for some video footage of the Slamball camp, to see just how ridiculous it’s been.
April 18th, 2008 at 7:39 am
big40 says:
you did your thing just sticking with it
April 18th, 2008 at 8:05 am
J Crom says:
well you gave it a try and got pretty damn far. nothin but respect from me for that. looking forward to seeing the video
April 18th, 2008 at 8:12 am
fiyaman says:
nice try man..srry
April 18th, 2008 at 8:27 am
evan says:
Congrats on making it as far as you did. Btw, I remember Hooker from the first run on Spike and dude is a monster.
April 18th, 2008 at 9:51 am
GEE...Ghost ride the whip! says:
You got my total respect money! You got out there and put in work, and I am sure you are better than some cats they will probably end up pickin anyway.
What about Bron he still in the running?
April 18th, 2008 at 10:04 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
Word Katz! No shame in your game. I think you have to have a couple of screws loose to completely “trust the tramps” and have no fear going 12 ft in the air.
I mean, come on- A DUDES FOOT FELL OFF!!!!!
April 18th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
robb snoop says:
dude u got it straight there, ain’t nothin holdin to the AFL (aussie rules)… slamball is crazy hardcore, but atleast u got pads on and a springy surface. Aussie Rules ain’t nothin but body on body on hard ground, it’s a real man’s game - full contact - leave the damn ‘pads’ at home, fool…. laterz, Aussies gonna hit up a medal in Beijing!!! aussie, aussie, aussie… OI! OI! OI! im out, Robb.
April 18th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Reed Tompkins says:
Hey man good job out there, sorry to hear that you got cut, I din’t see you this morning so I figured you were out, I’m just trying to keep my body together long enough to make it through another week…
April 18th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
giacomo says:
what r you guys talking about, aussie rules is physically demanding, but absolutely nothing compared to rugby union.
April 18th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
word says:
good job on pushing yourself to get where you did, I know nuff people would be scared to test themselves like that but you did and that gets mad respect. Now you can chill out in time for playoffs.
April 19th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Noah Sanderson (Rudy) says:
Yo Catz. I knew I could find you on here. Great run man. Too bad about the injury, but way to tough it out and get a few more practices in. Keep up the good writing, consider yourself bookmarked.
April 19th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
bigbyrd0032 says:
awww man im at home and found out u were one of the rookies i was looking forward to trying to plaster on the backboard haha just joking u gave it a good run those tramps are hard not as easy as it looks on tv huh?
April 21st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Hooker69 says:
Good run Katz. Hate to see ya gone, but thanks for the love and getting the word out about slamball. Keep in touch.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
marc says:
Good work! I have a question - do you know of anybody who is training in NYC? Please let me know, thanks