Jesse Rhode has been instrumental in Arizona Foosball from day one, starting on a Friday night in 2003 at Hazelwoods First Place, when he and Bill Nolan decided that they were going to take the game by the horns and go for a ride.
He was instrumental in launching the first rendition of our popular leagues back in 2005, and currently runs tournaments and promotions in both the east and west valleys.
Ken Oglesby has been there from the beginning, helping to start Arizona Foosball both financially and physically. When we say physically, we mean it literally. The amount of energy, horsepower and dedication that goes into setting up and maintaining a full circuit of 500 pound Tornado tables all around the valley is off the charts. Ken has done that, and he's done it more than once.
physically
Every player in Phoenix knows and loves Kenny off the table (and every player in Phoenix knows and loves being knocked around on the table by him as well). In all the years we've been at it, there has never been a foosball “emergency” that Ken was unable or unavailable to solve (and there have been many of them!).
Kenny
Brad Chamberlain has worked tirelessly for years, with little compensation, to make a lot of big things happen. And if you know Brad, you’ll know that this is not something new to him. He’s made a career out of giving his time to build things for the community, teaching and coaching on a regular basis. So when we all go home after a long tournament to crash out, Brad is up early the next morning doing it again for some kids in Maricopa.
Arizona's premiere foosball venue, Duke's Sports Bar in Scottsdale, would not be here today if not for his efforts, and the same can be said of Arizona's reputation on the national scene.
Anyone who knows Michael Carey knows the kinds of wonders that passion and dedication can produce. Though still a relative newcomer to the game of foosball, he has quickly flown through the ranks of beginner and amateur and is already settling into the expert ranks as we speak.
Applying the same devotion to his work off the field, his contributions to leagues and tournaments have helped to mold Arizona Foosball into a force to be reckoned with.
Jim King has helped to put Arizona Foosball in the sites (and laps!) of thousands of potential new players and sponsors with his monthly column, the Foos Pulse, which appears in Arizona Foosball & Darts magazine, as well as around the internet.
His novel insights to the game, its strategies, statistics and psychology are delivered with a personable style that hits readers as genuine and funny, and elicits nothing but good reviews. Well, nothing but that and bigger attendance.
Mike Lawrence has probably single-handedly preserved what Brad Chamberlain worked so hard at developing in Mesa/Scottsdale. He has not only kept Duke's running strong at times that Brad was unable to show, but has managed to score higher than any other TD on the player's favorability scale. How he does this and still finishes events on time is widely considered a miracle.
"Age", along with Gary Cooper and Ken Oglesby, has added an incredible facet to Phoenix foosball. In fact, the trio has managed to successfully pull of something that no one had been able to do previously – a regular tournament that draws (and keeps drawing) a steady stream of rookie and beginner players. There isn’t a lot more that needs to be said on this one; it’s that simple.
Rick Weirman is one of those people who seizes his passion and does not let it go. Invaluable for his work in league recruitment, scheduling, graphic design, and the rules committee, Rick has also been the tournament director for the Saturday Scrimmages events in Peoria,j as well as a table operator at the Hangar in North Scottsdale. Presently, he lives in Tucson where he is planning to launch new leagues and tournaments.
"Coop", along with Adrienne McCormack and Ken Oglesby, has added an incredible facet to Phoenix foosball. In fact, the trio has managed to successfully pull of something that no one had been able to do previously – a regular tournament that draws (and keeps drawing) a steady stream of rookie and beginner players. There isn’t a lot more that needs to be said on this one; it’s that simple.
Rulon Smith has proven to be a monster asset of AZ Foosball. In addition to managing weekly league results and statistics, he has also been intimately involved in the evolution of league rules and objectives, both on the field and in the codebase. He is also the author of the fine tournament software application that we often use to run the Interim League events, as well as a beta version of our league match scoring software.