As the LWOS National Arena League (NAL) awards are nearing to an end, we previously mentioned that the Jacksonville Sharks won multiple awards. Now we are diving right into the Executive of the Year Award, which is a tough one to choose from because all executives in the NAL have helped the league grow in the 2019 season. The 2019 LWOS NAL Executive of the Year award winner is Jawad Yatim of the Massachusetts Pirates.
Jawad Yatim Named LWOS Executive of the Year
To start the season, the Pirates brought back the base of their offense and defense from the 2018 season. The 2018 MVP, Quarterback Sean Brackett. Wide Receivers Mardy Gilyard, Thomas Owens, Devonn Brown, and Lavon Pearson also returned to the team to help the Pirates to a successful season. On the defense, Lawrence Austin, Chucky Williams, Kavika Luafatasaga, John Griggs, Shawn Loiseau, and many more were able to return to the team. Surely this team would be the best team in the league to start, right?
Rough Start for Pirates
The Pirates had to face the Cobras in the first two weeks of the NAL season. This meant that it either was going to be a great start or a horrible start to the season. Unfortunately for the Pirates, things took a turn for the worst, being outscored by 58 points in both weeks combined. The Pirates would ultimately have a 1-4 start, which knocked them to last place in the league at one point.
Win-Streaks to Send Pirates to Playoffs
This is where Yatim and Co. got the ball rolling. They signed multiple players from the National Football League (NFL), including Wide Receiver Dexter McCluster. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, and Tennessee Titans. The signings that Yatim made helped the team to a six-game win streak. The win-streak was the second-longest win streak in the NAL this past season. To keep their streak alive, the Pirates had to face the Jacksonville Sharks. Unfortunately, they lost to the Sharks to end their streak, then lost to the Sharks the following week. Thankfully for the Pirates, they were able to finish strong against a struggling New York Streets team. That gave the Pirates an 8-6 record after the horrid 1-4 start.
Not only did Yatim turn the team around, he was also able to get the Pirates and the NAL on the map. A Tweet from Ian Rapoport was sent out stating that McCluster was signed by the Pirates. Doing things like this will get teams and the league on the map, which would translate to more people attending games. More people going to games would lead to more merchandise being sold and more revenue to the team.
More Awards to Come
The LWOS team can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We have one more award, which is the Best Mascot before we move to the First and Second All-NAL teams.
