250 players shortlisted,league scheduled to begin in November 2012 A crowd of around 250 is seated in a rectangle on one corner of the warm-up ground at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi. Their black jerseys sport a logo depicting a helmeted figure throwing an oblong ball. Whistles chorus when a blond man with closely cropped hair makes an announcement. Jeff Whelan,coaching coordinator of the Elite Football League of India,has revealed that Pune will have not one but two separate teams of 44 each in the proposed American football league,scheduled to begin in November 2012. Of the eight cities in the EFLI,only Mumbai and Pune will have two franchises. This is a result of the response the league got when it first sent out feelers to a diverse range of sportspersons,through social networks,college visits,and word of mouth via coaches and physical directors. We got almost 3,000 forms,out of which we had to screen and shortlist around 250,based on factors like height,weight and what level they had reached in their previous sport, says Rajeev Deo,head coach of the Pune EFLI team. Im not surprised by the response,since the players we pick will be on fully professional contracts. We will give the players remuneration,food,a dietician taking care of their nutrition,accommodation,insurance,everything. The promise of professional contracts word is that the players selected for franchises will sign four-year deals with salaries ranging between Rs 15,000 and a lakh a month has drawn players away from sports they had reached a serious degree of competence in,towards a sport they had barely heard of till recently. But the players and coaches think they can adapt. The unique thing about American football is that each physical type has its own position, says Bangalore coach Thimmaiah Madanda,who represented India in rugby sevens in Commonwealth Games last year. And so,Karan Atram,a state-level javelin thrower from Amravati,will use his throwing technique to pick out long-range passes from the quarterback position. Pradeep Pandhare,a 64 basketballer from Solapur,will use his reach to pluck these passes from the air and make flat-out runs from the wide receiver position. Anish Dharmadhikari,who played centre back for Kfandra in the Pune Football League,will use his kicking skills as part of the special team. The weightlifters and wrestlers,meanwhile,will lock helmets in the scrimmage line. It seems far-fetched to imagine these players in a professional league in just over a years time. Even the coaches are new to the sport Deo is a judo coach,while Madanda hails from a rugby background,as does Shailesh Deorukhkar,the EFLIs chief coach. Its not as difficult as people think it is. Like chess,once you know how the pieces move,its just a question of finding the right combinations, says Whelan. He exudes faith in the success of the league. We were really impressed with how Indians took to the IPL. We also saw that India has been mimicking a lot of successful American TV shows like 'So you think you can dance? or 'Who wants to be a millionaire?. American Football is the single largest television entertainment in the US. We think it can work here too.
