Alaska Football League expanding to the Valley

WASILLA — The Valley will be home to a new brand of football in the fall.

The Alaska Football League, an Anchorage-based semiprofessional developmental indoor league, is expanding to the Valley, AFL owner and operator Abe Hernandez said Saturday afternoon. The now six-team AFL, will include the Valley Steelers for the 2015 fall season.

“We’ve been tossing (this idea) around for about two years now. We’ve been close a couple of times,” Hernandez said.

The catch, Hernandez said, is finding a general manager ready and willing to organize the construction of the new squad.

That person is Annie Neavill, an Anchorage resident with longtime ties to the AFL. Neavill has helped operate multiple AFL teams including the Alaska Giants, a team added prior to the 2014 season.

“We’ve been trying to do this for a couple years. It’s hard to find coaches, people who are interested,” Neavill said of adding a Valley-based team. “But the league is growing so much, there’s a lot of interest.”

Both Hernandez and Neavill emphasized the goal of creating a Valley team made up as much by Valley players and coaches as possible.

“We want it to be a true Valley team,” Neavill said. “We want to recruit players (in the Valley). We know it’s kind of a challenge, but we know there’s a lot of talent.”

Hernandez said six is a good number of teams to have in the AFL, and he’s excited to add a Valley team.

“It’s really important we expand out to the Valley, get players from out there,” Hernandez said. “We don’t want to dilute the talent in Anchorage. We want to have the best 100 to 150 players we can have.”

Neavill said the first task is hiring a head coach. Neavill intends to handle the business side of the team, she said, but needs a coach willing to recruit talent and oversee everything on the field.

Neavill said the AFL has found a main sponsor to support the team, but is also looking for Valley-based business to help support the team. The sponsor already on board requested the team be named the Steelers. Players will wear yellow jerseys with black pants, and the helmet will include black, yellow and white.

This area is already home to the Mat-Su Steelers, a Pop Warner youth football organization. There is no official tie or affiliation between the Pop Warner Steelers and the AFL’s Steelers. Neavill said AFL officials have talked to representatives of the Pop Warner program, seeking advice how to find potential coaches or players.

Hernandez described the AFL as a semiprofessional developmental indoor football league. Players do sign contracts, but are not paid. The league ended the 2014 season with five teams: the Arctic Seahawks, Anchorage Cowboys, Eagle River Raiders, Greatland Packers and Alaska Giants. With six teams in 2015, each squad will play an eight-game schedule, with the season finishing in mid-November.

The AFL plays all of its games at AT&T Sports Pavillion in South Anchorage. Games are played on a 50-yard field. There are eight starters on offense and defense. There are 20 players on the active roster and two spots on the practice squad.

Hernandez said the average player range is from 18 years old to about 26. Generally he sees a few types of player participating in the league, Hernandez said.

Hernandez said the league includes players straight out of high school still hoping to find an opportunity at the college level. Since AFL players are not paid, Hernandez said, there is no loss of college eligibility. There are also more experienced players in search of the chance to play in a professional arena league, or even the Canadian Football League. And there are those who simply enjoy a final opportunity to play competitive football.

The AFL was created in 2008.

The Valley Steelers will play its regular season games at the AT&T Sports Pavillion in Anchorage, but Hernandez said the league would love to host an exhibition in the Valley. Neavill said she hopes to meet with representatives from the Menard Sports Center in Wasilla in the coming days.

The Menard is the former home of the Arctic Predators, a professional arena team. The Predators, of the Indoor Football League, began play in the 2010 season, but the franchise was moved by the league to Kent, Washington.

Neavill said anyone interested in coaching the team, playing for the team or sponsoring the team can email annieneavill@hotmail.com, or call or text her at 907-717-9201. A fan page has also been created on Facebook.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.