"Hall Pass" - The Official Ironmen Blog of Ryan Hall

At 27 years old there are plenty of things I should be doing with my free time but this past season has been a little different. For Christmas I received a Nintendo Wii from my parents and since then I have been a full addict. Living with two roommates and having competitive sport games makes it impossible not to play. With multiple players I had to get more controllers and with the purchase of Mario kart my social life as we know it was over. Along with the game I also purchased the steering wheels so there is no excuse when racing. If you didn't know any better you would think that we all hated one another the way we comepete on the wii but its all in good fun and makes for some hilarious moments.


For those of you who have never tried Mario kart or the wii for that matter I highly recommend it! The games themselves are cartoonish and aimed towards little kids but when playing with more than one person its a riot. We compete in bowling, tennis, golf, but the main competition is in Mario kart. I currently live with Sean David and Evan McNeley both of which if you were to ask them would say they are the best at m.k. and that is obviously a lie. That means yours truly is the undisputed Mario kart champion of the New Jersey Ironmen. They get so bitter when they can't win and I love it!!! I mean lets be honest, the only real competition is for second place between Sean and Evan. The truth hurts gentleman but facts are facts....

So this is basically what we do with our evenings and free time. If there is anyone that thinks they are up for the challenge our door is always open. Even if you aren't in the Newark area, we can play over the internet. I'll even let you pick the course! So let me know if your interested in playing and we can work something out. Until then enjoy the upcoming weekend and we have a HUGE game against Detroit on Saturday. Go Ironmen!

What an interesting couple of weeks it has been, don't ya think? In the last two weeks we have lost, won, lost, won. Its like riding your favorite roller coaster at Disneyland. Now that I have been on injured reserve, I get to watch the games from a spectators point of view and I have to be honest, I think it is harder to be a spectator than it is to be a player. I find myself on the edge of my seat yelling at the other team's players, our players, and mostly the refs! I have realized that it is easy to be a sideline quarterback during games....

In the last week we have had three games in five days. We ended up going 2-1 with two victories over Chicago and the one loss at home to Detroit. The one loss to Detroit was a tough loss to say the least. We played very well in the first half but we gave Detroit some easy goals and having five blue cards doesn't hurt Detroit's cause either. The positive thing about the loss to Detroit was that we had a game the following day and could completely erase the previous days meltdown with a win over Chicago. The team knows there is little room for error left and team is using that as motivation down the home stretch.

We have a full week off until we play in Detroit. I am sure many of you are starting to become a little skeptic of us winning a championship but with Chicago beating Detroit the other night and if somehow Chicago can beat Milwaukee on Sunday then we are right back in it.

We have also signed some new promising talent along with some known veterans. Jerrod Laventure and Edison Bilbao are new to the indoor game but have had successful outdoor careers. Both are very hard working and good solid players. I don't think it will take long for them to make an impact on the team. Another player we brought in and is now my new roommate is Shaun David. I am sure many of you are familiar with Shaun considering he played here last year. I have played several years against Shaun and I am glad he decided to come to New Jersey because as a defender you get tired of chasing this guy all over the field. It seems as though he can run for days. Our next home game isn't until March 22nd but first up is Detroit in Detroit on the 28th. With a full week of preparation I think the guys are gonna surprise some people and win a much needed game. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and don't forget to watch Syracuse play Villanova on Sunday at 1pm from the carrier dome. Go Orange!!

A few weeks ago I took a minor shot to the side of my face while playing against Milwaukee. At the time my bell was rung but like many times before I didn't think too much of it and continued to play. Three weeks later I was still feeling some small side effects. I was having frequent headaches after practice and blinds spots in my vision. To be honest, I have a history of migraines so headaches and vision problems often come and go with me to no avail. Regardless, our athletic trainer insisted on me taking a "concussion impact" test. Now heading into this test I thought I had it in the bag. After all, I have had seven previous concussions and the tests are all usually the same. I attended practice after our loss against Chicago and once it ended I got in the car and followed our trainer up to his school (he's a head athletic trainer at a high school) take the test. The results were less than flattering...

So here we are with a decision. Do I continue to play and put my health in jeopardy or do I take so time off and allow my head to heal. After a long deliberation with both our athletic trainer and coach Namazi we decided it would be in my best interest to take some time off and go on injured reserve. By doing so I have to sit out for either 15 days or 3 games, whichever comes first. Fortunately for me we have three games in only 6 days. After this coming game on Thursday I will take the test again and be reevaluated. From there, we will determine whether or not I can return to the playing field.

So this is where frustration sets in. Any other injury usually requires therapy or some kind of rehabilitation. With concussion the only therapy required is rest. I can not do any physical activity whats-so-ever. I attend practice every day and literally just sit there like a lump of .... I can't even go to the gym to lift or ride the bike to keep my fitness up. For someone that is physically active to just stop cold is hard to say the least. During a time when our team needs to pick it up and go on a run for the championship, I am stuck on the sidelines feeling helpless.

It has been a week now since I took the impact test and I have to admit I have been headache free for almost the entire week. I am sure in hindsight this was the best decision for me but, its never easy to tell any competitor to just sit out and watch. I know our guys will do a great job in the upcoming games and hopefully I can contribute when I get back on the playing field.

It's been a while since my last blog and for that I apologize. As many of you are aware things in Ironmen land have been rocky to say the least. I am sure everyone is familiar with Tim Tebow's post game interview after they lost to Ole Miss this year. This blog is going to be similar to that press conference. I want to some how express my thoughts on the struggles we have encountered over the past few weeks. These are not excuses and there is no way to erase the past. This is meant to be my personal thoughts from this point on and nothing else.
I get asked everywhere I go "how could a team with so much talent be losing?" and to be perfectly honest I don't know. There is not just one reason for why we are losing. Its a combination of things but one things for certain, we are winning and losing as a team. Its not any one persons fault...

I have often heard the phrase "when it rains, it pours" and that couldn't be any more relevant than here and now. It seems as though when you are down every mistake, every problem, every touch, every decision is magnified to the tenth degree. During this point it's easy to blame the refs, players, coaches, even the subway sandwich guy for not putting the right amount of veggies on your sandwich. I have come to realize that this is when the true character of an athlete comes out. Do u as a player point fingers and blame everyone else or do you look within yourself? Do u make excuses or do you put your nose to the grindstone and fight your way out? Do you allow others to hold you down or do you do work when there is work to be done? I am in no way perfect nor have I played perfect during our last few losses but I assure you guys that work WILL be done and this train WILL get back on the right track...

So I urge the Ironmen faithful to continue to believe in us and not give up hope. Your support is what drives us everyday and is what motivates us to be the best that we can be. We are in no way out of the championship race. When the smoke has finally settled and its all said and done, we will raise that championship banner, I am sure if it. We will silence all those who said we are overrated and make all those doubted us stand accounted for. Most importantly we will hopefully make all of you fans proud. This weekend is a very crucial weekend and one where we need to make a stand. I have the utmost confidence in my coach and teammates that we will turn this ship around.

So that is my two minute rant. I am sure it sounds cheesy but this is my one blog to be serious and not joke around. Now that that's over, I will return to my previous self in the upcoming blogs. Stay tuned and keep those comments coming! I look forward to seeing everyone at our next home game.