Coach excited by the fan turnout at inaugural game in Chevy Centre

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- About two weeks before the season started, someone asked Mahoning Valley Thunder coach Mike Hold if he could locate a fairly essential, but often overlooked, piece of football equipment.
"They're like, 'Where's the jock straps?' " Hold said. "And I said, 'Oh Lord, I forgot to order those.'
"That's part of the challenge of being with an expansion team. Stuff like that."
And after spending the last few months juggling dozens of responsibilities -- from ordering equipment to adding players, holding practices, developing game plans and scouting opponents -- Hold finally got a few days off last week.
Or did he?
"I [was] probably busier than I am on a normal week," said Hold, whose team did not play last week. "There was a lot of stuff I put off until I got the bye week."
The team did not practice last week -- the players are not paid for bye weeks -- but after a long training camp and two games, Hold said they were ready for a break. The Thunders' next bye week is June 13.
"It was a good time for the guys to sit back and get healthy and get ready for the long haul," Hold said. "They have a chance to watch some film and take a look at themselves and how they can get better."
Jungle Kats tonight
Tonight, the Thunder (2-0) will play their second home game of the season against the Cincinnati Jungle Kats at the Chevrolet Centre. Hold couldn't have been happier with the first.
"The best thing about being part of an expansion team so far is the fan support," Hold said. "We had 6,000 fans at the first game and they were turning people away at the gate.
"Never in my 20 years in Arena Football have I been part of a sellout. Granted, it wasn't a 15,000-seat arena, but it's still a sellout. The community has really rallied around this team."
Mahoning Valley won that first game, which obviously helps, but the game was just one part of the product. The giveaways and promotions during timeouts, combined with the game's fan-friendly atmosphere left Hold -- and his family -- impressed.
"I didn't get to see a whole lot of it, but my wife and my sister and my brother-in-law were at the game and they thought the organization did as good of a job as any AFL franchise could do," said Hold. "And that starts at the top. The ownership group has done everything I could have wanted as far as support for me and my family.
"When I met with them back in June, I felt really good about coming here and they've done everything they promised and more."
Hold lauds Tokash
Hold also praised Adam Tokash, the team's general manager, and Ron Armour, the director of operations and marketing, for helping things go smoothly in the team's first season.
"They've got the right people in the right places," Hold said. "Bottom line, it's the whole product, not just football. From the onset of when they started arena football [20 years ago], it was about the show as well as the game. They go hand-in-hand."
Now that the start-up work is done, Hold is free to focus on football. In addition to watching film and scouting the Jungle Kats, Hold has also spent last week holding auditions for promising players. It's not uncommon in af2 for the roster to turn over significantly during a season due to injuries and other needs.
"We're constantly looking at players and we're always trying to make our team better," said Hold. "I'm happy because we're 2-0 but I think we've still got a long way to go.
It's a learning process
"The biggest issue with a young team is mental. These guys are still learning the game and it takes time. I saw some guys who never played arena football and they looked almost lost on the field in Week 1. They really took a step forward in Week 2 and the main thing now is to keep it that way."
The one area that doesn't need much improvement is fan support. Although they've only played one game, Hold said the Thunder's community support has been outstanding.
"The great thing about this team is, everybody knows about it," Hold said. "It's a football-crazy area. They don't care that it's not the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Cleveland Browns.
"It's another form of football entertainment for people and the fans have really got behind us."
scalzo@vindy.com