FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This takes place in the FBA universe.

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?" That was the question asked by the counselor to the young coyote male when he first entered middle school.

"I don't know... hopefully not here", he replied after a few moments of thinking about it.

That was the story of Rafael Hayes, or Raffie known by his parents. Born and raised in Soda Springs, Idaho, this coyote, an only child, has never left this simple town of only 3000 people. And with a town as small as this is, everyone pretty much knows each other. While that may seem good, the downside from all of this is that there is really nothing to do there as a youngster.

During most of his elementary school years, the coyote had been trying out everything as an extra curricular activity; from swimming to baseball to even singing at the church choir. And yet none of them have really worked out for him. It seemed that there wouldn't be anything that would be his big calling.

Soda Springs has a park but it did not have a basketball court to go with it. So Raffie did not get exposed into basketball until he entered middle school. Situated outside Soda Springs, the school had a fair basketball team in the tri-state conference which included Utah and Wyoming.

Upon entering the gym for the first time, hearing the sounds of dribbling balls and the squeaks of various sneakers, the coyote knew he had to take a part in this new activity. And it took no time before an opportunity came up for him to try it out. A stray ball rolled over to him; he picked it up with the group close by waving to him to return the ball to them. He rears his arm back and launches the ball to the hoop; only to have it sail over to the other side of the court. That resulted with laughter from most of the students and a few insults from the others.

That's when an older tall leopard barked at the team to shut up while retrieving the ball. Raffie was about to sulk out from the embarrassment when the leopard stopped him short of the door.

"You're from Soda Springs, aren't you?" the feline asked the canine.

"...Yes...How did you know?"

"I understand. Apparently that town doesn't care too much about basketball. You have a good throw there; but this is a lot different from baseball as you might have already noticed", he smiled as he held the ball to his side.

And that's how Raffie met the coach of the team, Samuel Garland. Garland became an outbreak star back in his youthful days from high school to college but he never ventured on beyond that. He decided to remain local to this community and worked as a car dealer before finding an open position as coach of the middle school. Much to the dismay of the other students in the team, the leopard took in the coyote in the rookie squad as long as he worked hard on the court as well as in his studies.

When Raffie announced to his parents that he was in the basketball team, they seemed a bit hesitant; not because of how physical the sport is but because of the fact that they have seen their child try out most sports activities only for him to falter a year or two later. But, nonetheless, they supported him with his decision and made sure he made it to practice when needed. And practice he did; when he wasn't doing schoolwork, he stayed with the coach after hours to get through the basic movements and posture. He could tell you now how extreme the workout was with the coach during the first two years.

At the second year of school, Coach Garland was impressed with how Raffie worked hard into becoming a part of the team. And with the speed and flexibility the coyote had, the coach decided to put him in a forward position and run plays with the team. He still didn't play in any games yet but he was there with the team watching how they play as well as how the opponents play. The opportunity for Raffie to play came near the end of the season when they were in a tough game with most of the forwards fouling out. Garland looked at Raffie and told him to get on, feeling a bit confident that the coyote would know what to do. The coyote didn't amount to much, only two points and three fouls in the fourth quarter, but he was happy that he got the opportunity to play in the team. And for the rest of the season, he came in as a substitute player during the third and fourth quarters, gaining more experience with each minute he played.

The third year of middle school became the best year for Raffie as he made his debut as a starter the first game of the season. It was an exciting moment for both him and his parents as they cheered him on knowing that this could be something that he can excel on. And the coyote had no problems excelling on the court... on the defensive side. While his offensive side didn't produce much for him, his attention to the other team's actions proved to be his main asset; where he directed the team into situations when needed and making defensive plays himself by drawing steals and forcing fouls. At the end of the game, he produced eleven points, including a three pointer, and fourteen rebounds along with three steals and drawing three fouls.

From that point on, the coyote did the best he could during the season; and that was all the coach expected of him. He wasn't trying to coach a superstar but a player. And that is what Raffie became; a player. No records were set by him that year but he had gone through enough to know that high school would be a whole different league than what he had gone through here.

High school did prove to be difficult for the coyote; not in the academic area but in the athletic area. His first school, Northview High, had a coach that only wanted winners. And that left him sitting on the bench for the first year and a half. Not only that but the coach was also not kind to the coyote; telling him how much of a failure he would be to the team and community most days. If the talk was supposed to make Raffie work harder to make the starting lineup, then it had a different effect on him. The depression started to kick in during the second year, with him practicing less while his studies have dropped too, resulting in lower grades.

Raffie was just about to drop out of the league when he got a phone call from no other than Coach Garland, the leopard that helped him out during middle school. Garland could sense the tension in the coyote's voice and knew he had to act before the youngster did end up quitting. With his parent's permission, he promptly took Raffie away after the school year and sent him to a basketball camp where he learned the game over and started to appreciate the game once more.

The new school year brought the coyote back on his feet; a new school along with him playing in the community basketball team rather than the high school team. The determination showed from that point on and he did quite well for the final two years averaging fifteen points and five rebounds. The fundamental play style of the coyote brought him a scholarship; giving him the opportunity to leave the area and venture out on his own for the first time. The scholarship didn't actually provide too much but it did land him at Acorn University in Indiana.

Raffie never broke records in Acorn University but he did land himself into a couple all-star collegiate games during his four year tenure at the school. While he did well in the athletic side, the academics still remained an important part of his life and he graduated from the university with a degree in nutrition science. And he owes all of his work to his middle school coach.

Rafael Hayes is a reserved person upon new surroundings, checking the area and finding out the best way to approach a situation. But once he knows the atmosphere, he will do his best to blend in with the area and people there and he is quite easy to get along with; allowing space for people that want to be left alone when necessary.. His hard work ethics it a major part of his life but he is known to let loose and have fun when need be.

Rafael Hayes is a rust colored coyote standing 6'8" and weighing 205 lbs. His position will be small forward/power forward.