Antonio "Rock Afella" Marcello Bio

[/u]

“In all good athletes, comes a good lifestyle, and in all good lifestyles, comes previous bad choices that allows one to correct themselves. When it comes to Antonio “Rock Afella” Marcello, this is exactly the case. Before we get into his life, lets just get into what it means to really be a football player. Being part of a team means you have to have commitment, to show up and be the best you can week in and week out. It means going out on the field and demolishing the opponents, taking away their dignity, and showing them who is boss. When it comes to being in the UFSL, with so many legendary names, Antonio Marcello wants to stick out, he wants to make a name for himself, and that is exactly what he is going to do. This is his life story, take him or leave him for who he is, but you’ll never forget his name once you play him.”



LEGEND IN THE MAKING[/u][/size][/color]

“It was a rainy day, in the month of May. He told me he remembered it like it was yesterday, and he remembered it well. It was 9:15 at night, things were quiet despite the thunder and lightning going off outside. The television was off, and the happy couple of Mr. and Mrs. Marcello were cuddling by the fireplace. In Toronto, Ontario Canada, it seemed as though the weather was always off like that, but it has no real relevance to the rest of the biography. When it hit 9:30, nine month pregnant Adrianna Marcello was rushed to the hospital as she was delivering her son, which would be the second one to join the family. Through seven hours of labour, she finally had Antonio, and he came out with the purist of blue eyes, and no hair, of course. His older brother, being four years older than him, was there to witness the happy occasion. Antonio’s father, Devon Marcello was pleased by his son, his weight and height were exceptional for a baby, and he knew he would turn out to be healthy. Very early in Antonio’s childhood however, things turned from healthy to scary. Being so young, he could never really fend for himself, and his parents always being away meant that no one but the nanny hired that week would be there to watch them. Antonio’s older brother, Marcus, was always the one to pick on him, and make him do things to hurt himself. Of course at the time being so young, he never knew otherwise. One day however, advancing ourselves two years into the future, Marcus would of pushed his little brother to the edge. They were fooling around, Antonio only being two years old was copying his older brother. Marcus was sliding down the stairs and of course Antonio just had to do it. Antonio flew down the stairs, but had a very rough landing, cracking his head open. The blood came out and the nanny rushed over to his aid. Twelve hours in the hospital and a worried sick parents trip ruined later, he survived with some stitches and staples in his head. A little off topic, but Marcus was obsessed with football, and so as a present to repay his baby brother, he bought him his first football.”


”Antonio was well aware what a football was, he was very pleased with the present.”

“Another few years into the future, and Antonio was finally able to run around, and play with kids his age. The one thing he loved doing though was coming home from kindergarten and playing catch with his brother and his football that he still had to this day. Antonio admired his big brother, and he always managed to show it. Marcus was always careful around his brother now, making sure that he didn’t get into anything serious and if someone bullied him, you could just imagine this huge lug walking up to you, it would have been scary. Antonio, Marcus and their dad were always at the park a lot, playing football and just spending time together. Because the kids barely seen their parents, it was nice to have the amount of time that they do with their dad. As Marcus grew up, so did Antonio. Now that Antonio is ten years old, he really understands things differently, and has a larger grasp on living his life. Marcus went away to high school, an all boys private school two hours away where he was only allowed to come visit on the train every weekend. This killed Antonio, as his dads schedule got tighter, and his brother was rarely around. Antonio coped by making a new friend at school, his name was Javon, and of course he and Antonio both had one thing in common, they loved football. Javon and Antonio fooled around everyday, played all the time and never got bored with playing, you could tell they would be good friends for a long time. Fast forwarding to their final year of elementary school, Antonio joined a tike football league in which Javon and himself both played for the same team. At the time, Antonio played running back because he had a lot of speed, and Javon was the quarterback. Everything clicked, until high school came, then things really changed.”



LIFE AIN’T EASY, DEAL WITH IT![/u][/size][/color]

“Things quickly became more real when High School became a factor of Antonio’s life. Marcus was around even less, as he shipped himself off to college, and his dad was never around anymore, things were fishy with him but never proven to be any kind of cheating with another girl. Javon seemed different too, it was like the summer switch from elementary to high school really took a toll on him. When both the kids arrived, Javon was very sketchy, Antonio realized what had happened, drugs had entered his life. Marcus and Javon’s brother Vince were good friends, Marcus thought it was cool to do drugs, and obviously Vince did too. Javon was always out in the smokers section, every single day, and this is when it began to become an influence to Antonio. They would both get high together, go to class and then leave school at the end of the day to do nothing but sit around, eat and laugh at pointless things. It was becoming so bad, Antonio was beginning to forget about football, or so he thought. One day, Antonio’s first year of high school went from bad to worse. He was arrested for possession of the drug MDMA, an illegal substance in all Canadian cities. When he got caught, he was suspended twenty days from school, and not allowed to leave his house until his twenty days were up. When this happened, the child protection agency finally stepped in, and took Antonio out of his home, as his parents were never around to help him with anything.”


”At this point, do you think he really gave a f***?”

“When he was taken, his family told the CSS that they wanted him to be in a home close to them, so they could at least visit, and to their surprise it would end up being a lot closer than expected. The football coach, of all people decided to allow him to live in his house until things settled down. The coach had heard exactly how Antonio played and he wanted him on the team, but not for the position of running back. When Antonio at first denied, they said they would ship him across seas to some small island in the middle of butt f*** nowhere. Finally he cracked and said he would live there, but refused to play football for any “white guy”. Antonio had become the stereotypical African American that most talk about, but things soon changed, when he realized what a mess he was really in. The coach got his twenty day suspension reversed so he could get back to school right away and play for the team. When he got there, the team knew exactly who he was, and no one at the time really wanted him, but the coach insisted, and eventually they caved in and accepted him as part of the team. Antonio was put on quarterback and was determined to make things click. Giving up drugs wasn’t very easy, but playing football was. Antonio was a natural quarterback, he threw spirals about the same amount of time he got p****, and trust me the kids a stud, he got a lot. Game after game, Antonio won the game, with the help of his offensive players and of course the outstanding defence. Antonio and his high school went on to win three championships in a row, year after year they became defending champions. Marcus was done school, and he came back to live with the family until he could find a job suitable for his major in Auto. A tragic day came only four days after his return. Their father had been shot by a local gang, he was gunned down on his way out of the “ghetto” part of town, and didn’t even have a chance to get away. This infuriated both of the boys, and made things that much harder on them. Instead of becoming a gangster and getting revenge, Antonio continued to play football all the way up to his senior year. Before he knew it, scouts from all sorts of cities were coming to look at him play, they wanted him on their teams more than anything. He tried his heart out for his dad and even his older brother, but another incident came up, this one his own fault. Just before graduation, probably a week or so I’d say, Antonio was booked for Manslaughter and was sent to prison after he had a run in at a local super market where he was caught shop lifting. Things seemed to be over for Antonio, until he got out, on bail, not even a week after. He had missed his graduation, but one person was standing there waiting for him, his brother Marcus. Marcus gave him a hug, and than a letter that had come in the mail. Trent University, twenty minutes away from him had offered him a scholarship to play for them, while studying any courses he wanted. Antonio accepted, maybe now was his time to get his life on track.”



MAKING IT BIG, TAKES EFFORT[/u][/size][/color]

“Antonio has been through hell, he’s been addicted to drugs, witnessed his fathers shooting, and has been locked up, but now it is time for him to get back on track. Getting offered to participate in the football program over in Trent was a huge step for him to take, but he planned on doing it, and making a comeback to prove he was worth their time. When he first got there, Antonio intimidated some of the older guys, because of his large size. Antonio was now 6’3” and 200lbs of muscle, which is exactly what the team was looking for. His first practice went amazing, as he was back at playing quarterback for the team. Every throw felt just right, and the catches being made were out of this world. The team was looking pretty good while they had the team that they did, and their first three games were a piece of cake. They won with ease, with a few minor errors as every team makes all the time. In one game however, Antonio stood out, and he made himself known. As a huge linebacker was coming full speed at him, he threw the ball off and then pumped the linebacker, slamming him hard on the ground. After his team seen the huge hit, they gave him the name Rock-A-Fella, which he than got put on the back of his jersey, and continued to use his nickname all the way through his college career. At the age of twenty two however, he got a call, a really big call. The UFSL, a newly opened league was looking for recruits, and obviously they wanted him to be a part of it. Antonio “Rock Afella” Marcello would become one of the biggest names to join, but of course his agent joined under an alias at first, no one knew who he was. As the draft approached, Afella was said to be going first round by all his peers, people he had heard about for some time were going to go lower than him, it would have been an amazing feeling, and it turned out to be true. In the first round, Antonio was selected by the Reno Predators and would end up being their number one quarterback. Things would only get better for him, and the season is bound to begin,”

PROS[/u][/size][/color]

Throw Accuracy - For a quarterback this is one of the most affective stats to have, and ever since high school this has been his main attribute to work on. His passes have always been spot on and he is hoping to continue that when it comes to being on the Predators. This is one thing you should be positive he will continue to work on the most out of all three of his special skills.

Awareness - Second skill of his would have to be the awareness he has. To be able to scout his surroundings is something he does to a tee. Whether it is to make a pass or dodge a tackle, he is always on the ball. Sacks wont be an issue for him, and that is going to benefit his team huge when it comes to making those game winning touchdowns.

Throw Power - Another major skill for this quarterback is his power that he is able to put into his throws. The power is a key aspect because even if you have accuracy, doesn’t mean you have the power to launch it down the field, but in Antonio’s case being so big means he doesn’t even have to worry about it. Hail Mary’s will be made this season, and you can bet your ass he will get those last minute touchdowns.

CONS[/u][/size][/color]

Speed - For a quarterback, this isn’t a huge factor. Some guys like to run it up to gain some yards when it comes to not finding an open player, but really its not something they rely on the whole game. That being said, Antonio does have the capability to run long distances, just at a shorter pace than other guys. His stamina is great and you can be assured that at some point in time, his speed will be worked on.

Break Tackle - Some may say this is a useless thing to have, but for some quarterbacks it may be good to have. Having awareness is one thing, but having the ability to shake off a tackle is another. Antonio most of the time has enough coverage so that he never has to work on this, but if he see’s that the team is struggling, he may have to resort to putting some break tackling on.

Strength - Again for a quarterback, nothing is really seen when it comes to Strength. Antonio wont be making any tackles, or trying to catch up with anyone, so besides his natural big body strength, you wont see him personally going out of his way to make any big hits, unless its to help on a kick return. Strength could come into play if he decides to switch positions but for right now, its nothing of need.[/center]