In this episode we will explore the element of team culture, and how players build trust on and off the field.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:27 - Hello and welcome to Limitless, Rise of the Falcons.
00:30 I'm your host, Naoka, and in this show,
00:32 we will look at the amazing world of American football
00:34 through the eyes of the University of Kent's
00:36 very own team, the Falcons.
00:38 In this episode, we will explore the element
00:40 of team culture and how players build trust
00:43 on and off the field.
00:45 But first, let's take a look at what it's like
00:47 to play on an American football team.
00:50 Daniel Ananu spoke to some players
00:52 about their experiences on the Falcons,
00:55 and for some, how it compares to playing on other teams.
00:57 - Team culture is one of the most important
01:03 and natural elements of any team,
01:05 and here at the Falcons, that is something
01:06 that each player holds close to their heart.
01:09 I asked some players about their experience
01:11 playing for the Falcons so far.
01:12 - It's been a challenge, to say the least.
01:14 I've never played this sport before,
01:16 so it's been fun, it's been fun.
01:18 I guess they push you all the time,
01:22 push you all the time to your hardest,
01:23 so yeah, I guess it's just been my experience.
01:25 I'm just pushing myself.
01:27 It's like a family, I guess.
01:29 Doesn't matter who you are, I guess,
01:30 they look at you like a brother or a sister.
01:33 I guess the fact that they're always pushing you
01:35 to be the better you, I guess,
01:36 making sure they're getting 100% out of you.
01:38 - It's been great, it's been good fun,
01:40 different sport, good group of people as well.
01:42 It's 'cause I've played different sports before as well,
01:45 and I'll say the Falcons is more like a family
01:47 than any team you would have played on before,
01:49 kind of thing, and it's a bunch of new people as well,
01:51 so I was surprised, like a bunch of rookies,
01:54 and then the older people as well,
01:55 it's just everyone meshes off.
01:57 We do socials, and then it's just like
01:59 talking to each other, kind of thing,
02:00 talking to each other, getting to know each other,
02:02 like being genuine, kind of thing.
02:03 Everyone here is really genuine,
02:05 so it just, it helps with the chemistry everywhere.
02:07 - There are also some players on the Falcons
02:09 that play for other teams.
02:10 I asked about their experience playing for both teams
02:12 and how the culture differs from the Falcons.
02:15 - Yes, we play for London Warriors.
02:18 I think we get more involved here
02:20 just because London Warriors is in London,
02:22 and they also don't have as much socials and stuff.
02:25 It's more just get to training, games.
02:27 Maybe there'll be special events,
02:29 like for example the Super Bowl,
02:30 but here it's more like there's more events constantly.
02:33 We've also got more training.
02:34 We've got training three times a week,
02:35 so we're with each other quite often.
02:38 I think we just do get quite close, to be fair.
02:40 - Yeah, yeah.
02:41 - Yeah.
02:42 - I guess this really is like a family here.
02:44 We are really, really close,
02:46 and like I say, if we have any problems,
02:49 we can always, for example, at Warriors,
02:51 we can speak to V, or here we can speak to any
02:55 of our committee, like Colado or Ben,
02:57 or even our coaches, like John, my offense coach.
03:02 - The summer I played for Kent Exiles, it's been good.
03:04 It's a bit different stepping up,
03:06 like a bit of a higher level,
03:08 playing with some more experienced guys.
03:10 It's a bit of a shock.
03:12 Yeah, they're good.
03:13 They're different, different vibes,
03:14 different demographics, but he got a lot of young energy,
03:19 enthusiastic, ready to go.
03:21 Over at Exiles, a lot more experienced guys,
03:23 willing to teach the newer guys.
03:25 It's good.
03:26 Most definitely, like if you see it here,
03:27 it's a rainy day and stuff like that.
03:29 Like you still got a good turnout,
03:31 better than most teams with at this point in the season.
03:34 - And so it's clear to see that over the course
03:36 of intense training, paired with off-field social gathering,
03:39 the players of the Kent Falcons have built up a strong bond,
03:42 making the team like no other,
03:43 and letting nothing stand in the way of their success.
03:46 ♪ I'm living in the 21st century ♪
03:50 - Now that we've met the Kent Falcons,
03:51 let's see what it's like to be a player for Team GB.
03:54 We spoke to running back Tyrell Bovell
03:57 about his experience playing on teams of different levels,
04:00 and how the culture compares between them.
04:02 - The way that Team GB works is obviously you've got
04:06 your bunch of guys who you travel with,
04:08 you spend three days with, you do camps with.
04:10 People in Team GB, they sort of,
04:14 they know how much work you have to put in
04:16 to get to that level, so everyone has that same understanding
04:18 and you sort of respect each other.
04:20 It's almost like a job,
04:21 like it's not just a hobby at that point.
04:24 Obviously you've still got Brotherhood of Mavs
04:26 and all that sort of stuff,
04:27 but I think it's where it's such a different level,
04:31 you can have people you sort of,
04:32 you turn up, you play, you have a bit of fun,
04:35 and that's sort of where it stops.
04:37 Whereas at GB, like I was saying before,
04:39 these people have dedicated years to playing the game.
04:43 Like you want to get as high as you can in the game.
04:45 At the Maverick, we do have that social aspect,
04:49 and everyone gets together, you watch football,
04:51 you talk about the season, you talk about the games,
04:53 celebrate losses, wins, and all that sort of stuff.
04:56 At GB at the moment, it's a bit more difficult
04:58 to have them regularly.
04:59 And we do, after games, obviously,
05:01 we'll go out as a team, celebrate,
05:04 and spend time there, but obviously where we're training
05:08 and not even people are coming from all over the country,
05:10 so it's a bit harder to arrange like a social side of things.
05:14 But definitely after games,
05:17 we spend that time together as a team.
05:19 My very close friends now, we met through football,
05:22 so it's something that when you've played it
05:24 for 11, 12 years, some of these people have played it
05:27 for that amount of time, so you build relationships
05:31 with these guys who you see twice a week,
05:33 for years, 10, 11, 12 years,
05:35 and you do get some of your sort of best friendships
05:39 from that, like any team sport.
05:41 - Earlier, I sat down with Kent Falcon's Social Secretary,
05:46 Joel Hughes, as well as the team's strength
05:48 and conditioning coach, Luka Gabela,
05:50 to speak to them about the team culture
05:52 on and off the field.
05:53 I wanna say thank you both for joining me here today.
05:57 My first question would be, how do you encourage
06:00 team bonding both on and off the pitch within your roles?
06:03 - For my role, it's more of like,
06:09 you have your training, and then you have your Wednesdays
06:11 where you go out, you dress up,
06:13 you go to the club, have some drinks,
06:15 and that's more of like a team bonding part
06:19 of making friends and having the university experience,
06:22 whereas on the field, which Luka will tell you,
06:27 it's a bit different 'cause we're all trying
06:29 to just kind of make our statements
06:34 about how good we are and just put yourselves out there.
06:39 - From my side of things, it's more about
06:41 when things go well on the field
06:43 and when things go badly on the field,
06:45 bringing everyone together to either celebrate
06:47 or pick people up.
06:48 So regardless of whether you're playing on offense
06:50 or defense, if you do something well,
06:52 the whole team comes and congratulates,
06:55 picks you up, makes sure that you know
06:57 that you've done something well.
06:58 And if something's gone poorly,
07:00 instead of letting your head fall,
07:01 that everyone comes together,
07:03 make sure that they're picking them up,
07:04 telling them they'll get it next time
07:06 and keeping their confidence high at all possible times.
07:08 And that builds confidence within everyone,
07:10 in their teammates and in themselves,
07:12 and everyone just comes close together because of it.
07:14 - Do you guys have any funny traditions as a team,
07:17 before a game, after a game?
07:19 - So our very first away game of the season,
07:22 we always do what we like to call rookie-okey.
07:26 So it's all the new guys that have joined the team this year,
07:30 first away game on the coach home,
07:31 whether it's a win or loss,
07:34 we always make them do karaoke.
07:36 And that's always a really fun setting to be a part of,
07:39 'cause we get the people that are quite shy,
07:42 new to the team, don't really wanna do that,
07:44 but we get them to do it anyway.
07:45 - Yeah. - To kind of like,
07:47 help them break out their shell,
07:48 not force them to do it,
07:49 but help them break out their shell
07:50 and kind of bond with the team.
07:52 And then every year we hold a pub golf,
07:56 which is like alumni.
07:58 So all the old players come back
07:59 to meet the current players,
08:01 and all the current players get a chance
08:02 to have a look at the experiences from the older players,
08:05 to try and learn from them.
08:07 Other traditions, what was the one you said earlier?
08:11 - We've got rookie stories as well.
08:13 - Rookie stories, that's the one.
08:14 Yeah, so we get the rookies to tell a story of,
08:19 like their funny stories of Freshers' Week,
08:22 or any stories before coming to uni
08:24 that they thought would be quite funny,
08:26 it helps them break out their shell.
08:27 - Perfect, and do you feel like the stuff you do,
08:30 when you socialise together,
08:31 creates a stronger team on the pitch during games?
08:34 And do you notice that as a coach,
08:35 when after a social, maybe a day or two,
08:37 the team feel a bit closer,
08:38 more like a family together?
08:40 - Yeah, I'd say especially after,
08:42 when we have our big socials,
08:43 the training session on the Thursday after it,
08:47 and especially when we're going into a game that weekend,
08:49 there's definitely a noticeable,
08:50 there's more joking around
08:52 because of the things that have happened.
08:53 Everyone's a bit more relaxed,
08:55 and when they're more relaxed,
08:56 they're less anxious about the game.
08:58 And I just find that they play better,
09:00 they work together better,
09:01 and the whole atmosphere going into the game
09:03 is much more improved when they have those good socials.
09:06 - Yeah, it gives everyone a sense of ease.
09:10 Like, there's not so much pressure on them,
09:14 even as students, as well as athletes.
09:17 It helps them take their mind off things
09:20 and create their little friend groups
09:22 that they will hopefully see together
09:25 till the rest of their lives.
09:26 - I'd say, thank you very much,
09:27 and good luck for the upcoming season.
09:29 - We appreciate it.
09:30 - Thank you very much.
09:31 And now it's time for Tony Teachers,
09:34 where we get to learn fundamental manoeuvres of the game
09:37 with our resident running back, Tony Mazzanichita.
09:40 This week, we will be looking at press coverage defence
09:43 with the Kent Falcons defensive back, Josh Bradley.
09:46 - Hello, and welcome back to Tony Teachers.
09:50 This week, I'm joined with Kent Falcons defensive back,
09:53 Josh Bradley.
09:54 So, thanks for joining me, Josh.
09:57 What made you choose to play American football?
09:59 - Honestly, I had watched American football
10:02 for a while before coming to uni.
10:04 I'd played all sorts of sports before,
10:06 tried out rugby, played football mainly,
10:09 and then coming to uni, I thought,
10:11 new city, new place, why not try something new?
10:14 Joined, and I've never looked back since.
10:16 - So, you're the social sec of the team.
10:18 Why do you believe socials are so important
10:20 for team bonding?
10:21 - So, socials is one of them where,
10:23 at training, it's very intense, very quick.
10:26 You don't really get a lot of time
10:27 to just get to know the rest of the team.
10:29 Socials is for that reason,
10:32 and when you get to watch the rookies embarrass themselves,
10:35 and then you come to training on a Thursday,
10:39 you just get to know them a lot better,
10:40 and it just brings that cohesiveness
10:42 that you need on the pitch.
10:43 - Do you plan to continue playing American football
10:45 after university?
10:46 - With the degree I do, it's gonna take me to America,
10:49 hopefully, that's the plan.
10:51 So, if all goes well, and I keep progressing
10:55 the way I am at training and in games,
10:58 going for American football in America,
11:00 then I'll do that.
11:01 - After my chat with Josh, we went out onto the field
11:03 to teach you guys some press coverage defense.
11:06 Now, let's break it down.
11:09 As the defensive back, you want your eyes
11:11 on the receiver's hips and feet lively,
11:13 and with your hands, you want quick, strong jabs
11:15 to the chest to put the receiver off his path.
11:17 When it comes to soft press, you wanna press
11:19 with one hand on the receiver so you can open up your hips
11:21 and step to the receiver's route,
11:23 and keep with him and disrupt the play.
11:25 And with the hard press, you wanna use both your hands,
11:27 pressing the receiver back to take away
11:28 the quick in routes for the quarterback.
11:31 Now, that's how you play press coverage defense,
11:34 making things just that little bit harder for the quarterback.
11:36 Next week, I'll be looking at tackling.
11:38 - We've reached the end zone of today's episode.
11:42 You can catch us next week for a brand new episode
11:45 where we look at coaches and their training.
11:48 But for now, that's all.
11:49 So, see you next time, bye.
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