Amateur to Professional Developmental Football League

A Note from our Team Mom, Director of Operations and My Wife....Kristie Eiland

My husband and I are not Tuscaloosa residents by birth, though this city has found a place in our hearts like no other. It will be the place we raise our children. It is great to ride through this town and know we are in the right place, at the right time, in the Will of God. 
What we found in our community upon relocating around 4 years ago, there was still a need however. How can a place so rich in the culture of football need another football team? We had just moved here, but there is no denying that the program in place at the university is a force to be reckoned with. They had created something that went way beyond football. In a much broader sense, they created a familial bond that even unified their fan base into family. If you are walking around town, you hear Roll Tide used interchangeably as a great hello, goodbye, congratulations, and it does not stop just there. At that time, my husband still had an insatiable desire to play, but there was no semi- professional team established here at the time. Though we are quite familiar with Semi Professional and Developmental programs , many people we had made contact here, were not. Then we watched the program at nearby UAB in Birmingham lose their program. Shortly thereafter the program here in Tuscaloosa, the historic Stillman College, lost their program as well. Our heart went out so much for the young men that needed another chance to pursue their dreams. 
Having been a part of a team, most of his life, my husband learned how to be a man. Essentially his father, absent for a period of time, played no vital role and set no example. Not because he wasn't a great man, as he is very much so. He just was not there at the time for his own reasons. The wonderful husband and father he became, was by the grace of God. Under the guidance of his little league, middle school, and high school coaches and Pastors dedicated to making a difference on the gridiron taught him how to be a great man, not just on the field but in life. See here in town, we have great volumes of talented young men. Some, though they may have been a part of a great program, saw no or minimal playing time. They graduate and go on almost lost or just grasping to fill that void when their college or high school career comes to an end. For some, Football may have been all they ever knew. For my husband, it almost defined him. It was such an integral part of who he was. Often times the very structure of a team, the very culture of family and belonging provides the very structure that keeps them alive or out of trouble. I know my husband can speak first hand at the lessons he learned on both sides of the ball and even more so when his own pride and choices took him away from a promising education and potential career. There are other young men, just like him who circumstance or their own lack of wise decisions, inhibiting them from ever going to college, or playing within the great atmosphere that the colleges here have provided under the guidance of a great coach. Some of the young men are now even torn between the choice or the dream of going to the alma mater that their parents went to and playing football, as our programs outside of the university have fallen to the wayside due to budget cuts or worse. That is where the heart and spirit of what is now The Alabama Steel Semi Pro Football comes in. 
Even our name Alabama Steel takes into account the history of what the Steel industry did for this and the surrounding area as far back as the industrial revolution. More than that, it represents the melting and fusing of all these different elements, to make something stronger. We are the Steel. We are a nation you might say of different cultures, different socioeconomic classes, different hearts that through one vision, through one sport, we become One. We become better. We become stronger. We become something that can build and be built upon. Iron sharpens iron, and here at The Steel, one friend sharpens another. 
We have a heart of not only having a great program, but sowing into the lives of the community around us. Helping to teach the young men, valuable life lessons, helping them reach their goals, but also how to not only grow, but grow the lives of those around them. 
Though we have a very modest program currently, we have already helped some of the young men on our team find employment, put back packs on the backs of two young children, put food in homes, and look forward to serving the community in a new way each week throughout our season. We are looking to partner with businesses and individuals with hearts that match up with our organization. We even hope to send young men to school at the colleges they desire, on scholarship through our program. We are staying NCAA compliant so the young men that have not exhausted their eligibility, will remain eligible. We also hope to send those that come through our program to fulfill their dreams at the next level, whether it be college, the NFL, the CFL or the up and coming Rugby league or arena football if their heart desires. We want them more than anything to become the men they were destined to be off the field, as well as on the field, whatever that may be. We are structured like a family, with team fathers, the guys can even turn to outside of their coaches for advice on life. 
We don't have it all together yet. Our entire staff is built right now on volunteers that also have full time careers. They simply have hearts so big, you might not be able to tear them away. We are still in need of volunteers for various positions on game nights and being a first year team, we are already learning loads about being a non –profit. It has been a challenge gleaming from others in the business as our model desires to be built in a way to do things that no semi -pro team has done before. Any sound advice one might offer would be grateful, as the knowledge to run an organization that is successful but has a heart to give back for generations to come is what we desire most. 
Admission 
Adults and children over 12 - $10 
Children under 12 - $5 
Kids ages 5 and under are FREE 
If you or your organization is interested in partnering with us as a corporate sponsor, please contact us. If football is your passion, we would love to see you come out and support us at our home games. Our season runs in the off season for the colleges, and high schools. We have no desire to compete with the football culture here. We want you to be able to go and see the teams that you love the most. We would also love to see you in our stands though because in a near perfect world, football would exist year round already. Now in Tuscaloosa it practically does.

You can reach our program with any questions, season ticket requests, individual and corporate sponsorship opportunities or partnership opportunities for us to give back to you as well at: thealabamasteel@gmail.com 
And more information is available on out league website at www.alabamasteelfootball.com

Kristie Eiland 
Director of Operations 
The Alabama Steel Semi Pro Football Organization