‘But the pros make it look so easy!’ A story of my venture into the world of British American football
The playing fields of Wishaw might be a million miles away from the glitz, the glam and the bright lights of the National Football League, not to mention the multi-million dollar contracts, but, every Sunday afternoon you can find a group of guys that couldn’t care less.
The Clyde Valley Blackhawks, who play in Division 2 North and are led by the grizzled veteran Gordon ‘Gogsy’ Lockhart, ably assisted by a coaching crew that he calls ‘the most experienced in Scotland,’ are just a bunch of guys that play the game with heart, passion and desire, fully knowing there will be no financial rewards or endorsement deals. Simply put, they play for the love of the game. Sure, it would be a lot easier if you didn’t have to clear the pitch of branches and avoid the mess left by various dogs, and possibly drunken teenagers, but, as I’ve noticed already, that’s just part of the fun. The experience, if you will.
As I venture into the kitted American football world for the first time, having plied my trade with the Glasgow Hornets, a local flag team, for six years and for whom I plan on continuing to play for, I was keen to assess just how popular the sport really is at this level, and how, considering that it is very much a minority, amateur sport, it was being run. More importantly I wanted to find out if I was actually the next undiscovered Jerry Rice. After just two training sessions, I think it’s safe to say my dream of kitting up for the Vikings is never going to happen. Although, how much my inability to catch the ball, or block, or tackle, for that matter, was down to the fact that I was wearing an ill-fitting helmet and shoulder pads designed for someone twice my girth is not for me to say.
I recently interviewed Head Coach Gordon Lockhart, along with Offensive Coordinator, and all round thoroughly nice chap, Gareth Cowie (can I get some game time please, Coach?) and Receivers and Defensive Backs coach Kenny Reid, who insisted on being asked what he thought his sexiest feature was, to discover, among other things, what the draw of playing American football is, and whether they believe the game to be in a healthy condition.
One thing that Americans seem to do so well is camaraderie and togetherness, and all three coaches pointed to that as being a key aspect in the enjoyment of the game and a reason for people to get involved in the sport. Coach Reid commented that it ‘becomes more than a team, it becomes a family.’ In my so far limited experience, I can certainly back that up, as there appears to be a tremendous togetherness amongst the roster, while they also have made me feel welcome and passed on their knowledge to myself and the other rookies. There is even a tremendous togetherness from the roster when it comes to mocking a certain player with pink hair, but I’m not mentioning any names (Richie Moore).
When I moved back up to Scotland, it was in September 2004, mere weeks before the Claymores left town to become the Hamburg Sea Devils, and, at the time there was a concern for the future of the game in this country, but Coach Lockhart insists that was never going to be the case. ‘There has always been a hardcore following,’ he commented. ‘When the Claymores folded, the faithful were still wanting to play,’ before further stating that the following was there even since before the Claymores existed and they have been passing on the mantle ever since.
When I first made the decision to give kitted a shot, thanks mainly to a recruitment drive from Coach Cowie, who was my quarterback at the Glasgow Hornets for a couple of seasons, I was somewhat apprehensive about the contact aspect. I aint gonna lie, I’m not the fighting sort. I never have been. Sure, I played a bit of rugby at school and I’ve had my fair share of injuries from flag and various other sports, but I’d never actually been hit before. So when I went to my first training session with the Blackhawks it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
I assumed there would be nobody to measure up to Ray Lewis or Troy Polomalu, but, as it turns out, these Blackhawks can hit. Hard. Pretty damn hard actually. We’ve seen in the NFL over the last few years, under the guidance of commissioner Roger Goodell, that a premium has been placed on the safety of the players, and all three coaches were keen to express that, while accidents and injuries will happen, player safety is absolute paramount with Coach Cowie pointing out that with it being an entirely amateur set-up and people having to go to work on a Monday morning after a game or training session, no risks can be taken. He hated the thought, he stated, of a player having to take time off work due to a football related injury, ‘because we as coaches allowed you to play injured.’
Again, with it being an amateur, minority sport, I was keen to see just how much work goes into game planning and scouting the opposition before game days. While I hardly expected there to be a staff of dozens putting in 10 hour shifts of reviewing game tape, Coach Cowie insists it certainly isn’t a problem, commenting that ‘the teams all know each other really well,’ while the regionalised aspect of the divisions certainly makes it easier to attend games, with Coach Lockhart further adding that scouting has improved a lot with the rise of the internet, and the technological advancements made in the last decade or so mean that a game plan isn’t merely based on what one person has jotted down on a sheet of paper.
But, what of myself? How have I found the transition from five-a-side, non-contact American football to the ‘full monty’ with hits and helmets and the rest? It is certainly a steep learning curve, and in my six years of flag I have only needed to learn the basics in terms of a playbook, but Coach Reid, another who was a teammate of mine at the Glasgow Hornets, believes that a key difference is simply the fact that ‘a lot more things are happening’ and that you have ‘to know what’s going on around you for your safety and the safety of others.’
And, so to the Blackhawks. What are the ambitions of the trio of coaches for the immediate and long-term future of the club? In terms of the future, Coach Lockhart insisted that the club has to live within its means, citing examples of teams in the past having gone all out for success one year, only to fold the next due to spiralling costs that could no longer be met. He pointed to the youth system that the Blackhawks have, with the Clyde Valley Falcons and the Lanarkshire Longhorns being affiliated with the club meaning that there are players in the system from the age of thirteen, so there is a constant conveyor belt of talent reaching the Blackhawks. In terms of the up and coming season, the ultimate aim, of course, is to win the division, and with a solid roster, along with an experienced coaching staff, there appears to be a quiet sense of optimism amongst the coaches as to what can be achieved this year. As for myself, as a 25 year old rookie, my aim is merely to do everything asked of me to the best of my ability and train hard in order to gain the respect of my coaches and teammates. Anything else is merely a bonus.
My kitted career may only be two weeks old, but I am loving every minute of it. Even the pain. So, if you want to give it a shot, why not get yourself down to Beltane playing fields in Wishaw on a Sunday afternoon, or contact the club on their facebook page (Clyde Valley Blackhawks), and become part of something really pretty special.
Oh, and for the record, Coach Reid never did say what he thought his sexiest feature was.
