Journeyman QB Raterink hopes he has found home with Outlaws

Last year at this time, JJ Raterink was hanging out with legends Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of the classic rock band Kiss.

This year, its Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil.

Raterink is no groupie, though. The 33-year-old Arena Football League journey­man is the starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Outlaws, the valley’s newest professional sports franchise.

After stints in Kansas City, Chicago, Iowa, Jacksonville, less than a day in Philadelphia and Los Angeles — where he played for Stanley and Simmons, owners of the LA Kiss — Raterink says he’s ready to guide the Outlaws in their in­augural season, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday against the San Jose SaberCats at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“There’s a lot of excitement with a new team, the guys are happy to be there, a new city for them, new opportunities,” said Raterink, who has thrown for 326 touchdowns, fifth-best in the league among active players. “If you look at some of the veteran guys we have, they either played with each other or against each other so long, it kind of shortened that learning curve about each other.”

It wasn’t hard for Raterink to make the decision to come to Las Vegas, given he had the chance to be mentored by the league’s all-time career passing leader, Aaron Garcia, now the Outlaws’ coach.

Their paths crossed awkwardly last season, when Garcia was traded to Los Angeles for Raterink, and in a cluster of trades that ensued, Raterink went from Iowa, to Los Angeles, to Jacksonville, back to Iowa, to Philadelphia and back to Los Angeles — the last trans­action in one day.

The final deal was made so Raterink ultimately could replace Garcia, whose age and mounting injuries brought his career to an end.

“Having a quarterback call the plays and kind of be in the helmet with you, you see and think the same things, it’s a huge advantage, especially in this game no matter how long you’ve played,” said Raterink, who has played arena football since 2006, progressing from af2 — the Arena Football League’s developmental league — to the highest ranks in 2010, when he joined the Chicago Rush.

“When he had his injury, he called the plays for me. So one of the things that intrigued me about coming here was playing for coach Garcia. One of the things I knew we were gonna have to do, especially in a short two-week training period, was get that cohesiveness with a brand new team. That was something, it just seemed like, the timing of some of the things came together quicker than we thought. That’s been really the focal point for us, and I’ve been pleased with the progress there.”

The offense has blossomed during camp, with wideout Tysson Poots, a Coronado High School graduate, on the receiving end of many of the throws from Raterink.

“JJ has seen it all,” Garcia said. “He’s had success in this league, and he’s struggled in this league. He was my first choice. He works as hard as anybody out here, he’s in the weight room after practice, he’s watching film, and he’s got a real calm demeanor that I think is gonna work real well for us here in Las Vegas and bring us success.”

With the NFL out of the question at this point in his life, Raterink hopes he has found a home in Las Vegas.

“There’s a couple of things I look at with my career right now,” he said. “One of them is the AFL has afforded me with a lot of great opportunities and kind of given me an extended family of guys all across the country. That’s been one thing, kind of the fraternity we’ve built throughout the years.

“Now I want to do everything possible to give as much back. This is my fourth start-up franchise, and I figure if I’ve got some experience and I can make it better, that’s what I’m gonna do.”