Electric Fishwrap

By Kate Martin

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Luke Barnes, 27, shifted his hand on the laces, looked to his receiver and threw the football. Sometimes it flew straight and true. Sometimes it didn’t.

Barnes, 5-foot-11 and 204 pounds, stood shorter than most of the other quarterbacks trying out.

Barnes tried out for the Colorado Ice, Northern Colorado’s newest indoor football team. Sunday, Barnes and more than 100 other men from across the country gathered at The Edge Sports Center in Fort Collins.

The former Thompson Valley High School all-conference player said he still has something to prove. He played a few years of college ball as backup quarterback in Grand Junction, special teams and a defensive back at Mayville State in North Dakota and later as a quarterback in the Colorado Football Conference, a semi-pro league.

But Barnes wanted to try out for the Colorado Ice, a step up from the volunteer competitive league.

It’s not for the prestige, and it’s certainly not for the pay (players make $200 per game). It’s for the love of the game and to prove to everyone that he can do it.

In high school, teammates told him he’d never play quarterback, that he’d never play in college. Sometimes family would join in the naysaying, he said.

When he tore two ligaments in his right ankle playing football this summer, his wife, Alyssa, told him he was too old to continue playing.

“They’ll never pick you,” his father said.

They didn’t in September’s tryout; Barnes couldn’t do the running drills because of his ankle. Head coach Collins Sanders told Barnes to come back for the next tryout.

Barnes was driven, either by desperation or dedication, to recover.

For the next three months, when he wasn’t working as a sales representative for United Rentals or spending time with his wife and now 8-month-old daughter, Irelynd Clair, he trained.

He worked out at Fitness 19 and at Rebound to build his strength back up to pre-injury levels.

“I want to play for the Ice because I love the sport,” he said.

But more than anything else, Barnes wanted to prove it to himself that he has what it takes. He said he rode the bench for a couple of seasons during his college days, but then was given the chance to lead. In 2002, Barnes earned an honorable mention in his last year of college ball for his play as a defensive back for the Dakota Athletic Conference, a group of 10 schools in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

“When I got my shot I did really well,” he said. “I can’t give up yet.”

Football has taught him a lot, he said. His coach at Mayville State taught him a motto he lives by: Do what’s right, compete against your best self and win at everything you do.

“It’s more about believing in yourself than listening to other people,” he said.

He said his biggest concern was finding a way to stand out to the coaches from all the other players. Ten quarterbacks tried out Sunday.

Alyssa Barnes watched her husband from the sidelines while she held a smiling Irelynd in her lap.

“He’s always wanted to do something like this,” she said. “He has so much heart, and heart can mean more than strength.”

She said her mother thinks she’s crazy for allowing him to try out for the team. If he made the squad, Luke Barnes would wake up at 5 a.m. to lift weights, go to work at 7 a.m., return home for a quick dinner before heading off to practice until 10 p.m.

“I definitely think he’s got the heart, dedication and the talent to make it,” she said. “It’s whether there’s someone bigger and better out there.”

He threw a few interceptions but also a few good spirals right into the hands of his teammates.

After all of the quarterbacks had a few throws, the coaches singled out four quarterbacks to watch their throws more intently.

Barnes was not among them.

“They told me I’m done,” he said.

He had a slight smile on his face as he held Irelynd in his arms, but his eyes were fixed on the men on the field and a dream in his heart.

His wife tried to remain positive despite his obvious disappointment.

“I think it turned out the way it’s supposed to be,” she said. “If he didn’t try, he’d sit at home and always wonder if he would’ve made it. He’d never know.”

Coaches asked Josh Brewer, former University of Northern Colorado quarterback, for a second look. Players from the University of Colorado, Colorado State and University of Miami, all Division I schools, also got a nod from the coaching staff.

In all, 38 men will get a call sometime this week to either attend the Colorado Ice training camp or an invitation-only tryout.

Barnes said he’s not sure what he’s going to do now.

“I’m going to have to see if I’m going to play this summer, or if I’m going to hang it up,” he said. “I don’t know.”

But Barnes said he had fun at the tryout and plans to see a few games once the Ice starts playing.

“It doesn’t change how I feel about the game or anything,” he said. “If I don’t play, I’ll probably coach somewhere.”

The Colorado Ice, part of United Indoor Football, will play at the Budweiser Events Center starting in March.

Originally published Dec. 11, 2006.