The 60-minute Man
Published on June 6, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
To most players in Arena Football, playing both ways is something you become accustomed to. Playing the full 60 minutes is not something that anyone gets accustomed to, unless your name is Tim Dodge.
"For me, it's a dream come true (to be the 60-Minute Man), it has always been my dream to play football
It all started way back in high school for Quad City Steamwheelers WR/DB Dodge, playing at a small school in Rockwell, Iowa. For those of you who don't know where Rockwell is, "it's by Mason City," Dodge joked about always being asked where Rockwell is.
For Rockwell High School, Dodge and most of his teammates were forced to play both sides of the ball, due to the lack of numbers that went out for football. So Dodge played both ways and most of the minutes throughout his high school career, one that began his freshman year.
"I was real fortunate, I started at the varsity level as a freshman in all four sports," Dodge said. "Growing up there, you didn't know any different.
Little did Dodge know what he was being prepared for.
In a small town like Rockwell, big things don't happen too often, but then came along Tim Dodge. After completing his senior year at Rockwell High School, Dodge made the biggest news in Rockwell, by committing to the University of Iowa.
"The biggest thing that had happened in Rockwell (before I came along) was some guy went to a JUCO for basketball. So it was kind of big for Rockwell," Dodge said.
So with bigger numbers at Iowa, many would think that Dodge's days playing both ways were over. Wrong! As a sophomore, Dodge was a key member of the special teams as well as seeing action at wide receiver. He caught three passes for 29 yards, while returning 25 kicks for 583 yards.
His next year he started the first nine games of the season and played in all 12 on the other side of the ball, playing cornerback. Dodge had 45 tackles (32 of them solo), broke up four passes, recovered two fumbles and came away with two interceptions.
In his final go around as a Hawkeye, Dodge played in all 12 games, back on the offensive side of the ball, at wide receiver.
"I think that it did help me, it gave me an edge on some of the guys who have never played on the opposite side of the ball," Dodge said. "So for me to get experience at the NCAA Division I level, I think it helped me a lot.
Dodge was a star at Iowa, not only did he play football, he also ran track for the Hawkeyes. Dodge was awarded all-American honors in 1999 when the Iowa 4 x 400-meter relay team finished fourth at the NCAA outdoor championships. Dodge was also a member of the 1600-meter relay team that qualified for the 2001 NCAA Outdoor championships.
"At Iowa, it was my dream to play a lot," Dodge said. "With track and football, there were times where I would go to football in the morning, go to track in the early part of the afternoon and then have to go back to football, but it prepared me to be able to do what I do now.
Now Dodge is or at least has played with seven other Hawkeyes who have been or are on the Steamwheelers roster.
"It's a lot of fun, you think that when you leave Iowa that you wouldn't see a lot of the guys hardly ever again and then a year later to be playing with them, its just something that you don't ever hear of," Dodge said.
So how did all of this prepare him for the arena game? Other than the obvious, Dodge thinks that there may be some other factors.
"It takes a lot of repetition, getting on one of those size fields and playing football is a main factor," Dodge said. "The big thing is the game itself. You shrink the field and turn the speed up, it's a lot of fun though.
So Dodge entered the arenafootball2 (af2) with the Steamwheelers as well as some of his former teammates this past winter, all in large part to Steamwheelers Managing Owner/Operator Jim Foster.
"The nice thing about it for me was that it was my open door," Dodge said. "Mr. Foster had seen me play at Iowa and he was like the scout that got me the invite.
After Foster mentioned Dodge to head coach Rich Ingold, Ingold was excited to see him in action. But never for one second did Ingold think that this kid would be this great, this quick.
Dodge adapted to the arena style game as if he were a crafty veteran. It didn't take him long to adjust to a field that was half the size of the one that he had played on all of his life.
Soon, Dodge was playing more and more and then it got to the point that he couldn't play more, because he was playing the entire game. Not too long after that, Ingold dubbed him the "60-Minute Man.
"I love him, this guy plays to win and wants to be in every play," Ingold said. "There is no let up with this guy.
"Tim is a great person number one, he takes his job very serious and it is important to him to do whatever it takes to win," Ingold said. "When Jim Foster invented Arena Football he had Tim Dodge in mind.
Then came last weekend against the same Cincinnati Swarm team. It was late in the first quarter when DS Matt Forbes was forced to leave the game with a tear in his MCL. This left Ingold to put Dodge at the DS position, something Dodge wasn't too fond of.
"For me to say that I want to come off the field would be going against my own dream," Dodge said. "That's why I have never taken myself off the field, unless I had an injury or something.
"He was on the bench, twitching, just itching to get out there and he was like âcoach, I can't do this, I got to be out there,'" Ingold said. "But I love that in a player.
So this is what a guy from a small town âby Mason City' can do for a professional football team, so what's the family situation like for Dodge?
Coming from a small-town and still living in the state of Iowa, Dodge's parents, Robert and Brenda, have been watching him play, basically, all of his life. Dodge is the oldest of four with two sisters, Kristin and Amy and a little brother Jeremy.
"They made it to a lot of games when I was at Iowa and they will be at every home game and the Peoria game this season, so that is nice," Dodge said.
Dodge, who will celebrate his first year of marriage to Hillary on July 6th, said that the transition that the two of them have made had its ups and downs, but is all working out just like they have planned. Hillary is now teaching in Parkview and the two have settled down in the Quad Cities.
"She knew that it was my dream to continue my football career, after I graduated Iowa there were some opportunities that fell through, we were here or there, but ended up here in the Quad Cities and she has been real supportive," Dodge said. "And I really do thank her for all that she has done.
Only the future knows where Dodge will be going next. Dodge said that if football doesn't work out or when his time is up, he would like to become a fireman, youth pastor or even both. But for now, the "60-Minute Man" is in the Quad Cities playing every minute of every game.
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