The quest to find the next Kiwi NFL star is on. Photo / Alisha Lovrich
The NFL’s next star of tomorrow could be in your own backyard.
That phrase has seemed like a Kiwi pipe dream in the past, but the sport’s growing strategy to go global in their talent scouting has strengthened the hope for many young athletes assessing their options.
Enter the NFL Academy, a chance to blend a fulltime education with the rigours of American football training for student-athletes aged between 12-18.
There are only two in the world. The second, which will open later this year, will use the Gold Coast’s A.B. Paterson College as its high-performance base.
Fortunately for New Zealand’s youth, the edges of the NFL’s casting net have grasped Takanini’s Bruce Pulman Park, the venue for the academy’s recruitment camp in Auckland on Thursday.
Not even the early morning fog could impair the NFL’s vision for the athletes.
“What we recognise early on is that in order to have more success with international players making the NFL in the future, we need to start kids playing the sport earlier,” said Charlotte Offord, General Manager of NFL Australia and New Zealand.
“By bringing them in at a younger age, we’re able to develop them in a specific way and really hone in on the specific skillsets that they have for their position because it’s a very skill-based sport.”
The day is split between two sessions – one for those aged 16 and over, the other for the under-16s.
A chilly morning amid the school holidays has brought in a range of experience among the 40 members of the older block – some who play for their local gridiron clubs, and others who have never touched the laced leather oval ball, but experience is irrelevant.
“It’s not a pre-requisite for them to have played American football before. Most of these kids have not touched an American football before and that doesn’t matter,” Offord continued.
“I think what we look for is general athleticism and general hand-eye co-ordination skills that we can then teach to then put into a specific position.”
A sense of nerves rings among the registration lines, which is quickly swatted away when the hopefuls are asked to take photos for their athlete bios – one straight-faced, one with a smile and one muscle flex.
Then it’s on to the measurements – height, weight, hand size, arm length and wingspan – followed by warm-ups before the drills begin.
It’s like an NFL Combine, except the no-nonsense nature of Indianapolis is swapped for the swag of South Auckland.
A DJ is nearby to pump the athletes up – a smooth, Afrobeats transition from Ralph Tresvant’s Sensitivity to Blue’s All Rise is the pick of the bunch.
There’s the standing broad jump, a 40-yard dash and a football station dedicated to testing change of direction, reaction and flexibility, giving coaches an idea of a person’s athletic profile.
But the head of the NFL Academy’s Asia-Pacific branch, Will Bryce, said the intangibles are just as important as the on-field traits.
“Are there any leaders that emerge in their group? Are they more vocal? Do they lead by example? Are they encouraging one another? Is there energy and some good camaraderie?
“Or are they a bit more reserved, a bit quieter? Do they take time to warm up? Just to get an idea of who the person is, not just the athlete.
“They don’t know each other either, so it’s great to see them all come together like that as a team.”
The reality though is not everyone will be accepted into the academy, with Auckland the third camp on the Asia-Pacific branch’s recruitment route, following the Gold Coast and Sydney.
“We will scale the programme up to 55 over the next five years, but the first intake will probably be between eight and 12 athletes,” Offord said.
“The reason for that is we want it to be a very one-to-one skill-based performance academy, but that will very quickly go to 25 and 35 and beyond in the next year or so.”
Don’t doubt the NFL Academy’s track record in its infancy. The first academy, based in Loughborough College in the United Kingdom, was established in 2019 and is home to several European and African student-athletes.
The academy saw their first student – offensive tackle Travis Clayton – selected at the top of the seventh round of this year’s NFL draft, via the International Player Pathway programme, an initiative that allows elite athletes around the globe to try out for the league.
That success also extends to the American collegiate system, with the academy helping more than 40 players earn a collegiate scholarship in the United States. Nineteen alumni are set to suit up for the upcoming NCAA Division I season.
The reason for the increased interest in the Australasia region? The success of Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata – the former rugby league player who, like many of the youth at Bruce Pulman Park, had minimal knowledge about American football before putting on the pads.
Mailata, through the IPP programme, was selected in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, going on to establish himself as one of the best tackles in the NFL.
Bryce had a hand in the Australian’s development, noting that he’s the best example of a rugby-to-gridiron convert.
“He’s arguably the most successful to do that so far. Guys like Jordan being successful are why these events happen and why the Academy has been able to be launched by the NFL and invest in them, because they want us to find more Jordan’s.”
As the blue skies begin to make their presence, so too do several former New Zealand rugby representatives, who subtlety appear on the sidelines alongside the families supporting the young men.
Former All Blacks Pita Alatini and Keven Mealamu, and former Black Fern Fiao’o Fa’amausili are among those present. Mealamu is supportive of the initiative.
“For us, just to see our kids getting an opportunity whichever sport that is, it’s a real bonus because even in our time, I don’t know how many guys that I’ve played alongside as I was coming through – really talented and sometimes you just miss out because there’s not enough spaces in a team.
“So, when you can extend that and make an opportunity for our young people, then why wouldn’t we do that?”
Following the first session, the participants are informed that they’ll be contacted over the next week or two to discuss their academics before the final choices are made.
Bryce points out the untapped potential on offer in New Zealand, but stresses the importance of the classroom if the NFL route doesn’t work out.
“If we can find them younger, give them more development time, pair that with an education so they have a backup plan, which is just, if not more important than the sport.
“That way when they get to the NFL, if they’re lucky enough like Jordan, it’s probably an easier transition than what Jordan had, but he’d be the first to tell you that he wants to make it easier for the people that come after him.”
Given the second NFL Academy is based across the Tasman, it adds an extra obstacle for those based in New Zealand.
“We’ll fly them into the Gold Coast, they can get a feel for the school, the immediate suburb and the city, so that they feel comfortable and because for the parents, their son is leaving home, so there’s many factors,” Bryce said.
“It’s case-by-case, and we work through that process with the family, the school and the NFL, to put a good plan in place.”
Offord is interested in discovering more talent in the islands.
“Next year, outside of coming to New Zealand, we’ll also be looking at Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.
“There is a hub of talent in the Asia-Pacific region – we aren’t utilising it, we aren’t tapping into it, we aren’t creating pathways for these kids at the moment, so let’s do that.”
Elijah Fa’afiu is a Multimedia Journalist with Newstalk ZB and the New Zealand Herald. He enjoys consuming a wide range of sports, including rugby union, league, combat sports and American sports, particularly the NBA and NFL.
'I think she has the speed to get across them early so that will help.'