BSN: Coach Allner, Several months have passed since you coached the Tulsa Talons to the af2 Championship in Bossier City. Looking back how does this rank in your professional career highlights?

Answer: Our entire season this past year is going to be a very hard one to top. We really had a great run all season long and it was a pleasure having the opportunity to coach such a great group of guys. Winning the championship as a coach was such a different feeling for me than it was winning as a player. There is just so much more time invested into the coaching side of it, that to me it made it a little more special.

BSN: Not everyone is familiar with your football background. Obviously you paid your dues to get to this level. Can you briefly take us through the steps of how you reached this level.?

Answer: Coming out of college (D II Morningside College) I had a little interest with a couple NFL teams, but nothing serious. I had some workouts with the Tulsa Talons, Iowa Barnstormers and QC Steamwheelers but they were already mid season and didn't have any roster spots available at the time. Later in the season QC had some injuries and Coach Haege brought me in. I played two games with them and I was hooked on Arena Football. The following year I signed with the NY Dragons, but left and finished the season with the Iowa Barnstormers. I was then signed by Coach Foster in '02 for my first year here in Tulsa. I spent some time with the LV Gladiators in '03 and finished the season up in Tulsa when we won the championship that season. '04 started down in Austin where I was released and I came back to give it one more run here in Tulsa. That season I ended up breaking my foot ending my playing career. From there the coaching opportunity came up and I've been doing that since here in Tulsa.

BSN: I am sure it was not all easy. Any bumps in the road, or things that did not go your way or that you did not plan on?

Answer: There were a lot of bumps in the road, but there are not too many people that I know of who's road has been smooth sailing the entire time. The good thing about the things that didn't go well is that it has made me a stronger person and makes it easier for me to deal with problems that come up now in coaching.

BSN: Coach Allner, You know that athletes are signing up in the Beyond Sports Network every day. Can you provide some of your advice to some of these athletes to shed light on what they should be doing to increase their chances to get to the next level.?

Answer: I think that players just need to keep playing and not take a year or two off waiting on NFL teams to call you. There are a lot of players who I talk to coming out of college who don't want to play Arena ball and two years later they tell you "I wish I would have kept playing." You never know when or where you are going to be noticed, but I do know it's hard to be seen by other coaches if you are not on the field. More and more players in Arenafootball1, Arenafootball2 and other leagues are being brought up to NFL teams ever year. I believe if you just get on the field and work hard every day, your efforts will be noticed.

BSN: Do you have any special way that you recruit talent?, anything you look for?, anything that turns you "off" when recruiting?

Answer: I'm not a coach who gets too hung up on whether or not a guy can run a 4.3 forty yard dash. Maybe that's because I was never a speedster when I played. I like hard nosed players who are not afraid to battle when things get a little tough. A player can have all the ability in the world, but if you're not a tough player this is the wrong business to be in. I want to know that when things don't go exactly as planned the player will not fold under pressure. We had a lot of guys like that on our team this past season. In many games, we were trailing in the third and fourth quarters and not one of my players ever thought that we would not win those ball games. That's the sort of confidence I like on my team.

BSN: What about agents?, Do you recommend an aspiring athlete to sign with an agent? Give us your thoughts on this....Hindrance... or Beneficial?

Answer: I think agents are good for players. Agents usually have more contacts than players do and have the ability to get the players name out around the league better than a player trying to represent himself. Especially when you're dealing with contracts that can be negotiated like in the NFL, CFL, Arena 1, etc it's good to have an agent who can help you with the negotiation process.

BSN: How about Combines to showcase one's talent?. What do you look for at a combine... What catches your eye in a player?

Answer: There are a lot of different things that catch my eye in a player at a combine. Like I mentioned before I'm not big on times although a player has to have respectable times in the forty, shuttle and broad jump. The main area that I pay most attention to though is the individual drills. In my opinion, that is where you can really see whether or not a guy can play for you.

BSN: Lastly, many athletes never get a chance to go "one on one" with someone in your position. At Beyond Sports we want to give the athlete every opportunity that might not exist outside the Network. Can you answer some of the athlete's questions if they contact you directly through the Network?

Answer: I try and keep myself as available as possible. I'm pretty busy right now getting things put together for the upcoming season, but if any player has a question they can write me and I'll get back to them as soon as possible.

BSN: Coach, we cannot thank you enough for taking time out of your hectic schedule to spend some time with us and the athletes out there.