Kent Sport Satellite Club Case Study
Project Name:
Activity:
Location:
Contact Person:
Towers School American Football Satellite Club
American Football
Towers School, Ashford
Guthrie Miller/Darren Reeves
The Project
American football has, in recent years, increased
significantly in popularity. Known for its short explosive
plays and big tackles, the sport is extremely physically
and tactically challenging. Guthrie Miller, the
development lead for American Football Development
(AFD) has been awarded Satellite Club funding to
deliver 20 weeks of American football to the students
of Towers School in Ashford. The sessions take place
every Tuesday and have had attendances of up to 20
participants.
The project has a specific focus on males and females aged 14-16 years old who have not already
engaged in extracurricular sport. The sessions are being held at a high intensity, with skill based
exercises and practice games at the end.
The Young People
Joe, the head coach delivering the
American football sessions at Towers, has
been signposting the students to East
Kent Mavericks, who are based in
Canterbury. He has also been promoting
camps that the participants can attend to
develop their skills and knowledge of
American football.
East Kent Mavericks are yet to have any
members join their club as a result of the
Satellite Club sessions, but many
participants have displayed an interest as well as attending one of the skills camps provided by
AFD.
Successes
Both AFD and Towers School have been extremely happy with the funding received and how the
sessions have progressed.
The participants asked stated that they enjoy the fact American football is new to them, and also
how there is a mixture of people attending they would not have interacted with previously, which
makes the sessions engaging and fun.
The students at Towers School are keen to try American football with the full kit, including pads, to
play contact, something that both males and females expressed interest in. The participants stated
they would be keen to compete in flag football fixtures against other Satellite Clubs/Schools.
Exceptional Circumstances
To promote American football at Towers School, AFD arranged a day of taster sessions run by
their coaches during PE lessons, which included a special visit from two time Superbowl champion
and former NFL star Byron Chamberlain. Byron offered some tuition on the fundamentals of the
sport, and also gave guidance to the students. Joe has also identified that the female participants
could soon be reaching national team standard.
How likely are you to join the community club?
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