Sports students support young American Football players in NFL Schools qualifying tournament

Third-year student Max Vallis

Teams from local schools competed to qualify for the South East regional rounds of the NFL Flag for Schools last week – with help from sports degree students. 

Hosted by the University of Chichester, in partnership with Windlesham House School, the qualifying tournament saw the University’s third-year Football Coaching and Performance and Physical Education and Sports Coaching students support the players in the tournament, using their own coaching skills to bring their knowledge to the teams. 

Schools involved in the competition included Christ’s Hospital School, Steyning Grammar School, Bohunt School Horsham and Windlesham House. The successful qualifiers, who will go on to compete at the South East event at Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, next month, were Bohunt School Horsham in the U15 Open and Windlesham House School in the U15 Girls. The winning team could end up travelling to the USA to compete if they succeed through to the regionals and then nationals. 

The winning U15 girls team, Windlesham House Jaguars

Student Max Vallis explained how he was helping the teams with game management and said: “It’s looking at your opponents and trying to find those gaps; you’re watching players and understanding what their strengths are. It’s about knowledge and game awareness as well. 

“The game can be competitive, but everyone’s enjoying it and having a good time and that’s what is most important.” 

Another student, Owen Sheriff, said: “We’re helping with the running of a Flag Football competition, and it’s a new sport for all of us but it’s nice to experience different things. There are always transferable skills between sports, and there’s things we can take from this sport into football.” 

Phil Crisp, Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching at the University of Chichester, added: “I have had a lifelong involvement with the sport and American Football. I spent more than 10 years playing in various European domestic and international leagues and I was the first British contact (American Football) and Flag international. I have always been involved in the sport, and it is great to use this connection to help my students to do something different and bring that to their CVs.”