Franchise ResourcesI Love This Game!
By Dustin Zick, Off The Grid Correspondent
Like many IFL athletes, Collin Rodefer has his own story of what brought him to the league, but his reason for staying is one that rings true among many of his peers: the comradery. “You can go in, especially after the first season together, and you know people, you have friendships, ones that you can come to depend on.”
Rodefer, in his second year with the Greendale Panthers, and his third in the league, plays Wide Receiver, a position that he’s played since high school. A ’06 graduate of Waukesha North, Rodefer remarked on the difference between playing in high school and on the IFL. “In high school it was way stricter, I wouldn’t say this is more laid back, but it’s more flexible, it relies a lot more on individual dedication.”
“A lot of people have that thing in life that they always have to be doing, that they can’t give up. That’s football for me; I’ve been playing it since I was two years old.” Rodefer got involved with the IFL after hearing about it from a friend, and convincing a few old teammates to join up with him. He spent his first year playing for the Spring City Cyclones before moving to the Panthers when the Cyclones disbanded.
When asked what one of his most memorable moments on the field was, Rodefer didn’t have to dig too far back. He spoke of this year’s June 5th game versus the Shorewood Monarchs. Through torrential rain, the Panthers came out victorious with an unusual score of 4-0, achieved by two safeties.
Off the field, Rodefer works as a Firefighter and EMT for the town of Lisbon, in addition to working the Warehouse at American. Eventually he hopes to become a full-time paramedic. Still, the IFL holds an important place in his life, and it’s one he doesn’t seek to give up anytime soon. “You forget everything when you’re on the field, you focus, and you get this great feeling of purpose and a goal. That’s a feeling I won’t give up until I absolutely have to.”
