The end is near, but Bailey enthused

By John Kovach

The defensive back has been a steady contributor since being released by the Cleveland Gladiators.

YOUNGSTOWN — Montae Bailey is getting exactly what he wanted from the Mahoning Valley Thunder, which is more knowledge about how to play the arena game.

And in the nine games the 24-year-old from Minneapolis, Minn., has played for the Thunder since leaving the Cleveland Gladiators of the AFL, he has given the local af2 team what it has wanted from him as a defensive back — tackles, pass breakups and interceptions.

Bailey has become the Thunder’s fourth-leading tackler with 43.5 stops (38 solo tackles and 11 assists) and has a team-best two interceptions with six pass breakups.

Bailey (5-foot-11, 193 pounds), who believes his strongest asset is “aggressiveness,” says he has a feeling the Thunder (3-12) will win their final game of the season Saturday against the Green Bay Blizzard (10-5) on Cortland Banks Field in the Chevrolet Centre.

“I definitely think we can beat them,” said Bailey, a graduate of Ridgewater Junior College in Wilmar, Minn., with a major in business economics.

“The scores [of our games] don’t indicate the quality of our team. The turnovers have hurt us.”

Although Bailey said he is learning a lot playing for the Thunder and likes the team and coach Michael Hold, he admits the franchise’s struggles have not made it an ideal situation for him.

“I am getting a good learning experience,” said Bailey, who was sent by the Gladiators to the Thunder for precisely that reason. “But it is kind of frustrating because of the record and the way the season has been going with all the injuries and the personnel coming in and out.”

Bailey, in his second year of professional indoor football, got a tryout with the Gladiators earlier this year after playing the 2006 season with the Peoria Pirates, then of the United Indoor Football League. He sat out 2007 to concentrate on workouts.

Peoria had been a member of the af2 before joining the UIFL for one year and now is back in af2.

“I went up [to Cleveland] there on a two-day waiver and practiced for a week,” recalled Bailey. “The coaches praised my physical abilities. But at the time they were 2-5 and needed someone to step in right away. They said I had ability, but that they did not have time to teach me the game.”

Bailey said a Gladiators’ coach called Hold and told him he was available.

Bailey said his objective is to learn and move up.

“I am hoping to get on any AFL team next year. I would like to get back with the Gladiators. I like their coaching staff,” said Bailey, who said that he has gained a wealth of knowledge playing for the Thunder, especially how to defend receivers.

“When I came here, I didn’t recognize different routes the receivers were running at me or what they would do. I was relying on my reactions,” said Bailey.

“Coach Hold has been in the league so long he can give me so many pointers and techniques. He can show you a couple ways to do things and then let your ability take over after that. It has been a learning curve.”

Bailey believes the af2 is a better league than the UIFL.

“I think the overall quality is a lot better in the af2,” he said. “It is a lot more organized. I think competition is a lot better. A lot of the players are from bigger schools. This is because this is more of a feeder system, a developmental league for the AFL.”

kovach@vindy.com