Soul coach Dolezel to be inducted into Arena Hall of Fame

A LOT OF PEOPLE helped Soul coach Clint Dolezel reach the Arena Football League Hall of Fame.

The receivers who caught the 931 touchdown passes he threw as a player. The offensive linemen who made sure he had the proper lanes to throw for 44,564 yards.

But the person most crucial to Dolezel's success never strapped on shoulder pads or benched 350 pounds.

"My wife, Kris," Dolezel said. "There is no way I could have done any of this without her."

Dolezel is in his first season as the Soul's head coach after spending a season coordinating the team's recordsetting offense. Before Saturday's game at Iowa, he will join five others inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in a 7 p.m. ceremony televised by CBS Sports Network.

"It's a tribute to everything he's done over the years," said Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh, who is in his third season playing for Dolezel. "He's passionate about this game. The name Dolezel is synonymous with Arena Football."

Current Iowa coach Mike Hohensee, who coached the Soul in 2011, and Sherdrick Bonner, voted the greatest quarterback in league history, also are among the inductees. Wide receiver/linebacker Randy Gatewood, defensive back Clevan Thomas, head coach Mike Daily and co-founder William Niro round out the class.

Dolezel wasn't planning on being an arena lifer when his college career at East Texas State ended in 1994. But he just happened to run into Milwaukee coach Michael Trigg at a Dallas bar before Trigg was to take a group of arena players over to Spain for some exhibition games. Dolezel was reluctant because the trip was scheduled a week after he and Kris were to be married.

"She said, 'Honey, you have to go for this,' " Dolezel said with a laugh. He has been on the move ever since, with Kris currently back in Dallas with their kids Molly (a high school junior) and Trevor (eighth grade). "She's a great woman."

Dolezel started in Milwaukee, won a title in Grand Rapids in 2001, played for Las Vegas and Dallas before a work stoppage canceled the 2009 AFL season and essentially pushed him into coaching.

"I'm humbled by it," he said. "As a kid, you dream about winning championships. You don't even fathom going into [the Hall of Fame]. It's a shocker. It's an honor. I love the game, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Dolezel is not one of those coaches with an eye toward the NFL, even though Soul owner Ron Jaworski sees him as a potential assistant somewhere. No, Dolezel's attention is split between his family in Texas and his football team in Philadelphia.

"The money means nothing to me," said Dolezel, 43. "I'm all about being happy, and spending time with my family when I can. That NFL life is a hard life. It's a 24/7 job even in the offseason . . . [Arena] is a game I know very well and I feel like it's easy for me. I could be done at noon most days [during the season] and have 5 to 6 months off afterward. That's a pretty good life. It's the reason why I love arena football."