3.4 million of us tuned in to watch this year's superbowl. So with American football fever is running rife our reporter Daniel Anenou went to Canterbury to find out what players go through to get to the very top.
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00:00 Now 3.4 million of us turned in to watch this year's Super Bowl. American football fever
00:05 is running rife at the moment, even if it is thanks to the help of a certain pop star.
00:10 Well, many here in Kent will be likely thinking about getting into the sport. Our reporter
00:14 Daniel Anenu went over to Canterbury to find out what players go through to get to the
00:19 very top. Let's see how he got on.
00:22 I went to a rainy Canterbury to train with the Kent Falcons, getting an in-depth experience
00:27 of what the players have to go through to make sure they are at the top of their game.
00:31 We started off with drills that would simulate in-game situations such as evading an opponent
00:36 or running whilst being dragged. We then moved on to some tackling drills whilst also working
00:41 on being agile and quick off your feet. The aim of these drills was to work on timing
00:45 the tackle but also making sure we are being safe whilst tackling.
00:58 After that, we moved on to catching the ball using different in-game scenarios which called
01:02 for different tactics or routes in order to fool an opponent into thinking you're going
01:06 one way but instead going another, as well as increasing the chances of catching the
01:10 ball and scoring a touchdown.
01:16 Tackling and catching the ball were some of the most strenuous drills I had done and although
01:20 they ask a lot from your body, they are some of the most vital aspects of the game as they
01:24 can be the difference between a win or a loss.
01:31 Catching the ball requires a good eye for space as well as a good eye for tracking the
01:34 movement of the ball and being quick enough to get to it before the opponent does, which
01:38 is why players have to be physically fit and have high endurance.
01:45 Both tackling and catching drills required a lot of speed, agility and vision and when
01:50 it comes to American football, timing is an important factor in terms of knowing when
01:54 to make the run and knowing when to make a tackle.
01:56 I'd like to thank Daniel and the rest of the American football team, the Parkins, for teaching
02:03 me and putting me through the wringer and showing me just how much goes into the training.
02:12 Let's play!
02:14 Let's play!
02:16 Let's play!
02:18 Daniel Ananu for CAMTV.
02:20 Looks like a lot of fun.
02:23 Daniel joined me on the sofa earlier for a debrief and he started by telling me how he's
02:27 feeling after going through all of that.
02:30 Honestly, I still feel the pain some days later but overall I feel really happy and
02:37 really excited about what happened.
02:40 You haven't played American football before but what was it like being with the team?
02:44 Obviously some veterans there of the squad, do they make you feel welcome?
02:47 Yes, I haven't played American football before and they showed me the ropes, they showed
02:52 me what I had to do and they were very, very patient with me, obviously because I haven't
02:56 played the sport before and obviously through the warm-ups and the actual training and some
03:01 of the routes that we had to go through.
03:05 They were very patient with me and they took their time explaining how they do it and why
03:09 they do it like that.
03:10 Obviously they enjoyed watching me suffer and go through so much pain.
03:15 Absolutely, and we can see you on the screen now enjoying yourself out on the field there.
03:20 Was there anything that surprised you as someone that's only ever been an onlooker of American
03:24 football?
03:25 I guess just how much running there is.
03:29 Obviously through American football there's a lot of running but actually doing the running
03:31 yourself and the quick change of directions, just so many different types of running if
03:37 that makes sense in the sense that you have to run a certain pace to catch the ball but
03:42 you have to change direction very quickly.
03:43 That's one of the things that surprised me as well as just how fit you have to be to
03:48 be able to play American football at a sufficient level.
03:53 Those two things are the things that surprised me.
03:55 You think you'd give it a try again in the future?
03:56 Oh 100%, 100%, 100%.
03:59 I really, really enjoyed it and I had a fleeting thought of just maybe joining the American
04:03 football team.
04:04 Oh yeah?
04:05 Yeah.
04:06 Well there's a brand new episode of Limitless, Rise of the Falcons, which you're a producer
04:09 of of course, coming this week.
04:11 What's the theme of the episode this week?
04:12 This week we're looking at games, playoffs and the fans.
04:15 So we're looking at the fans' perspective, we're looking at the playoff games, we're
04:19 looking at, just a deeper look into the Kent Falcons.