This article originally appeared in Issue LXIII of Gridiron magazine, back in 2021 – for individual editions or subscriptions, click HERE

Whether it’s college scouts looking further afield, or the growth of the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP), more talent is making its way across the pond than ever before. The NFL Academy is aiming to give players a head start by tapping into the pool of British and European athletes aged 16 to 19 and providing them with an intensive football and academic education. Opening in September 2019, just months before the onset of a global pandemic, the Academy’s greatest challenge was having its players buy into the ethos being established by head coach Tony Allen. “They’re 16-year-olds and you’re putting them through a professional environment,” Allen tells Gridiron. “Whatever their age, it’s whether they buy in. You have to get them to believe in you. We’re always honest and that’s the only way you can be.”

The staff at the NFL Academy and their partners at Barnet and Southgate College are building an all-encompassing platform for these athletes’ footballing ambitions, but Allen explains that those young players’ commitment cannot be taken for granted. “Not everybody buys in. They love the sport but being an elite athlete, which is pretty much the environment and the ask… it becomes very tough. Achieving that purely comes down to whether the kids have bought in, whether they’re mature enough to make that change in their lives.”

While adjusting to the demands of a new programme alongside national restrictions has been anything but straightforward, the Academy has fought to stay ahead of the game and reap the benefits of online learning. “It’s a really tough environment, I can’t express that enough,” Allen adds. “[They’e had] all the pitfalls and hurdles – not just the football side of things, but the environment we’ve brought these young men into in regards education. We’re still building and we’re still shaping things.”
 

 
Allen is no stranger to building a culture that his players will buy into. Having worked in professional football with NFL Europe, in the amateur league with the six-time British champion London Warriors, and in various grassroots community initiatives, he is a coach who knows what it takes to rally a team. Allen challenges his players to get one per cent better with every training session and he sees it as a mantra that pays off on the field and in the classroom. “When you’re challenging the players to achieve one per cent, it’s not that hard is it?” Allen explains. “I want you to give effort, and I want you to compete, every time. If you get those two then you’re going to get one per cent better. That makes it easier for them to see and feel.”

Fortunately, Allen has a team of coaches who have lived the very experience that players are committing to at the NFL Academy. From standout athletes who have signed professional contracts to seasoned positional coaches, the Academy staff know the football dream all too well and are determined to develop Europe’s next generation of talent. “All of the coaches are delivering the same message and we’re fortunate to have coaches who are British but they’ve played in NFL Europe, in the NFL, in college, in junior college; they all have a story to tell,” Allen explains. “When it comes to the things we say that are important – be it academically or on the football field – you’ve got peers there, British guys that have done it before.”

Their ambitions remained the same, but the environment in which those players were fighting to make rosters was much different to today. “There are more opportunities now than there were back then,” Allen continued. “Back in the day you had to climb over a fence at night to do your workouts in the dark just to get into NFL Europe. You also didn’t have the plethora of information that there is now regarding going to the NCAA.”
 

 
Navigating the administrative hurdles of university is challenging enough without searching for a football scholarship too, but the Academy has positioned itself to take on that challenge alongside its students. “We have a great relationship with the NCAA,” Allen explains. “Two of our coaches have been trained up to provide all the relevant information, but it really is a different world. I think in time people will get a better appreciation of what we’re trying to do at the Academy.”

The other major obstacle comes in convincing college football coaches that these graduates are worth investing in. However, despite their lack of competitive game film, the NFL Academy has been remarkably successful already. Academy graduates Darren Agu and Seydou Traore immediately caught the eye of college scouts during brief but impressive seasons in high school football. Having received 31 offers, Agu has now committed to Vanderbilt in the SEC while Traore will play for Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference. The duo took full advantage of their high school football stage, but their Academy head coach Allen remains conscious of the long road ahead. “It is rewarding – and we are so proud of them – but for us the job is only part done. Our role is to get them ready for that harsh environment. If they think we’re tough they have no idea what it’s going to be like in the US. Each and every one of them, wherever they come from, will be given the nickname ‘London’. There’s a big difference in culture, so it’s not just teaching football but everything we do here is preparing them for that.”

Allen is similarly aware of the impact that the Academy can have on the sport right here in the UK. The programme is already building ties with British universities, such as the University of Nottingham, where graduates can continue to develop their football and their education. For Allen, the Academy is not only accessing the UK talent pool but developing it wholesale. “It’s about putting a different type of athlete and football player back into the British game. That’s how we indirectly help, and we already know going in that that’s what we’re going to produce. It’s all about the kids but there are ways of helping the game at the same time.”

The NFL Academy is still in its early years but there is undeniable evidence that it is working. While their graduates begin to make their way into the highest levels of competition, Allen and his staff continue their unending search for improvement. “There’s no rocket science to it, it’s like any football programme,” he concludes. “This is my best kid today and my job is to find somebody better than him. We have to keep on improving on everything we do, even if that’s just finding an extra hour in our weekly schedule. We are starting earlier than ever this year and we’re excited to get on with a full year of football.”

This article originally appeared in Issue LXIII of Gridiron magazine, back in 2021 – for individual editions or subscriptions, click HERE