Tokash named GM for Thunder

The 1995 Boardman High graduate expects the team to be successful here.
By ZACH STIPE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Few -- if any -- precautions are being taken by the Valley as a storm, gaining power, heads right for downtown next spring.
The area's new professional football team, the Mahoning Valley Thunder, completed its second step in readying itself to strike the Chevrolet Centre next April with the hiring of a general manager.
The Thunder introduced Adam Tokash as the team's first GM at a press conference Thursday at the Centre.
The selection comes on the heels of the official announcement of the team on May 15 when Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams and Co-owners Dr. Michael Slyk, Dr. Jon Saadey and Tim Chesney signed an agreement that made the Thunder the 24th franchise in the Arena2 Football League.
Local product
The ownership team did not have to look far in selecting Tokash.
He is a Boardman High School graduate and Chevrolet Centre employee.
Tokash's first job as GM of the expansion team was catching a pass from Slyk, who introduced the 29-year-old to the crowd on hand.
Tokash described his position with the Thunder as a "dream job" and said that he never expected to work in the sports industry in the Mahoning Valley.
"I'm honored and humbled, Tokash said. "I look forward to the challenge in front of me."
He expects the team to be successful because of the Valley's passion for football.
Tokash thinks that AF2's exciting brand of the hard-hitting game will thrill the Valley.
"I want every fan to go out there and be on the edge of their seats," he said. "Those of you that haven't been to an arena game, you are in for a treat."
Mercyhurst College grad
Tokash graduated from Boardman in 1995 and earned a degree in sports marketing and business education from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. in 1999.
He said that he played a variety of sports as a kid and in high school, while adding that he competed on Meryhurst's NCAA Division I volleyball team.
AF2 is essentially a breeding ground for the Arena Football League, which just completed its 20th season. Arena football games are played on an indoor field that is 50 yards long and are generally high scoring, fast-paced affairs.
Teams field eight players on the field at a time instead of 11 and receive an extra point for converting field goals by drop kick instead of place kick.
The Thunder are looking for a kicker who can drop kick, Saadey and Slyk said.
Open tryouts planned
Chesney said that the team plans on having open tryouts sometime in late August.
Under AF2 rules, the Thunder are permitted to have 20 players on the roster and 21 if the additional player is international.
Players make $200 a game with a $50 bonus for a win and are housed, fed, and transported during the season.
The team will play 16 games including eight home games at the Chevrolet Centre.
The next step is for the Thunder to hire a coach.
The owners expect to have another press conference within the next 30 days to announce their selection.