Kevin Guy, Lawrence Samuels Meet Again
March 30, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
Transition can sometimes be frightening, especially in life's arena of change. For one player and one coach in the Tampa Bay Storm-San Jose SaberCats' Saturday game, they faced evolution together at the former Livingston University - now known as West Alabama University.
Lawrence Samuels, one of the finest two-way (or Ironmen) of the Arena Football game, and Kevin Guy, who now is the defensive coordinator with the SaberCats, were teammates for two years at Livingston, situated in west-central Alabama.
They not only played together, but they have been combatants in the Arena Football League. Guy played for three teams in four seasons and Samuels has been a mainstay of the Storm for 12 AFL seasons.
They meet again Saturday in HP Pavilion, Kevin in the box calling the defensive plays for the SaberCats and Lawrence doing his best to disrupt those calls with his receiver skills on offense and also getting time as the âjack' linebacker on defense. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and excellent seats are still available.
FRIENDSHIP NEVER FADED FOR THEM
Interestingly, the two have been friends ever since their college days. That was when Samuels, a junior, was actually a mentor to Guy coming in as a freshman. "Lawrence was assigned to me as he was the upper classman," said Kevin, who has been coaching in the AFL since 2000. "He was a great of example of how it was supposed to be at the college level. The transition from high school was quite a change and he helped me a lot mentally."
Samuels, 36, now enjoying his 14th season of playing in the AFL, said he was given that opportunity to have someone guide him through the first couple of years of school "and because of that, I became a leader of the team."
Life skills are so important to young people and these two bonded in a way a lot of athletes, administrators and coaches see in the camaraderie of sport and how it changes persons to become model citizens.
"I didn't expect Kevin to leave the game before I did, but he was doing very well at coaching," Lawrence said. "It takes a special person to be a coach and he has all of those qualities."
GUY CLOSES PLAYING CHAPTER
Guy closed out his on-field career with the Orlando Predators in 1999, losing to Albany in the XIII ArenaBowl. "Obviously, I wasn't getting rich playing, there was talk of a player strike and the league canceling the next season," Kevin said. "I figured it might be best to go to the coaching side."
As it turned out for Guy, he was offered a defensive backs coaching position with the New Jersey Red Dogs, who became the Gladiators who became the Las Vegas Gladiators in 2003. That was in 2000. He moved up to defensive coordinator and then interim head coach for the four final games of the season.
In 2001, he offered Lawrence a contract, with a bonus, to come to New Jersey after seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Storm. "I signed him to a bigger contract. Financially it was quite a bump and included the bonus. I just wanted to coach him because we needed his professionalism and leadership."
As the ink dried on Samuels' contract, Kevin's contract became extinct. In other words, new ownership moved in, fired all the existing staff, but paid off another year of his contract. What about Samuels' bonus?
BONUS NOT AN ISSUE FOR SAMUELS
"I took money from my buyout and paid the bonus myself," Guy said. "It wasn't until the end of the year that the team paid Lawrence that money and then he paid me back."
Lawrence said this was the kind of character Kevin had, and because of this transitional opportunity, both became even closer. "I also have a lot of aspiration to coach," said Samuels, who has a Master's in education from West Alabama and teaches in the off-season.
As for his playing abilities, Samuels is "Mr. Consistent" according to Guy. "He's as good a receiver as any and one of the best âjack' linebackers with his physical play. It's his ability to keep himself in top shape that has made him one of the finest to play this game."
Samuels finds himself playing mostly on one-side of the ball these days. "My role kind of changed with the new rules (free substitution)," he said. "I come in on some defensive situations, but not many.
"I love playing defense too," he said. "It's not the âold' Arena game and it's not âtrue' Ironman football. It is all the coach's decision on how much you play on both sides of the ball, but it is not just what we are used to."
Samuels, at 6-foot-2, was actually a basketball player first. He never played high school (John S. Shaw High School in Mobile, Alabama) until his senior year. "I was discovered on the basketball court when the head coach saw me throw a âbaseball pass' of the ball the length of the court.
"That was when I was a junior and the following year my mother let me play football."
Like Kevin Guy, Samuels has aspirations to be in the coaching ranks. He coaches high school football in the off season, as well as teaches adult education to incarcerated individuals.
"He and James Roe are a lot alike," said Kevin. "He's always positive."
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 30, 2007
- Kevin Guy, Lawrence Samuels Meet Again - San Jose SaberCats
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- Destroyers hand Georgia first loss of season - Columbus Destroyers
- Avengers in the community - Los Angeles Avengers
- Dallas Desperados Trade Offensive Lineman - Dallas Desperados
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