“I never thought I’d be playing for Ireland.””So it’s been like a breath of fresh air to play a new sport, or [one that is] new to us.”While some of the children involved were already playing the likes of soccer, rugby and Gaelic games, the NFL has really caught the imagination in the playground. “I […]
“I never thought I’d be playing for Ireland.””So it’s been like a breath of fresh air to play a new sport, or [one that is] new to us.”While some of the children involved were already playing the likes of soccer, rugby and Gaelic games, the NFL has really caught the imagination in the playground.
“I had the good fortune that they were coming into the class that I teach this year and the opportunity came about to get involved.At Greenlanes, the sport has grown quickly from a few children tossing a ball back an forth in the schoolyard to representing Ireland in international competition.”These guys are really interested in expanding the game. Some of the parents have been asking already when they go into secondary school will there be opportunities to engage in that,” added Donnelly.NFL
NFL
“The guys who were playing already really encouraged everyone to participate, a few others joined, and now it’s become really popular. It’s fantastic to see different sports being added to the yard.”The sport, which will be included in the Olympics at LA 2028, is played in more than 100 countries across the globe and is a non-contact version of American football which, instead of tackling, sees defenders pull a ‘flag’ from the waist of the attacking player in possession of the ball.
“I really liked it when we started playing at break and then Mr Donnelly told us he was trying to get a team,” says Arnie Copeland, the starting quarterback.”These guys are really inspiring to the younger kids. When they won, we had a nice celebration with them walking through the hallways and even the younger kids who will be coming through Greenlanes, they’ll all want to experience something like this.”Before we had American football, the only thing we really played at break was soccer,” says Andrew Drummond, one of the team’s wide receivers. The pupils from Greenlanes National School secured their trip to Orlando courtesy of victory in a qualifying tournament in December and are one of 13 flag football teams who will spend this weekend rubbing shoulders with the elite of the National Football League at the annual Pro Bowl festivities. “It’s really great that these guys have shown them what’s possible.””It all started with these guys who were throwing an American football in the yard. I was just thinking to myself that I’d never seen an American football thrown here before,” explains their teacher and coach Ciaran Donnelly.Although most of the squad will move to secondary school later this year, many are keen to keep playing and there are plenty of younger children keen to emulate their success in the coming years.
NFL
NFL
