So what does it take to get to the top of your field and be
named a Great Britain Head Coach? And
once there how far can you push yourself and your ambitions? Andrew Gambrill will be known by many
in the BAFA and Britball community, and we were fortunate enough to have him
answer a few of our questions as to how and why he got into the game.
AG - I was part of
the Channel 4/Nicky Horne generation. Although I also remember watching the
Super Bowl highlights on ITV’s World of Sport with my brother.
UKFD - When did you
realise there was football activity in Britain?
AG - That’s such a long time ago! I honestly, can’t remember. I know a friend and I trained for about 18 months with the Leamington Spartans. They had one helmet. The Head Coach, poor chap, qualified for the position because he had an American accent.
UKFD - What made you
get involved in the UK game?
AG - Such a hard
question, I just loved the sport from the first time I saw it.
UKFD - At what point
did you realise you could make a difference in the game and how it's
structured?
AG - Fairly early on,
in my time at Leicester Eagles, I had the coaching bug. There was always a
group of lads who came to watch the seniors train and so the idea of setting up
a youth team came from that.
As for getting
involved at a National level, I realised that I knew the answers to rookie’s
questions, but I would also hear veterans complaining about the BAFA, but
equally those same veterans wouldn’t do anything to rectify things. I had a lot
of experience and ideas and more importantly the motivation to help out. I soon realised there wasn’t a BAFA ivory
tower and it was just guys like me who saw beyond their own team and wanted to
see the British game grow. We’re all BAFA.
UKFD - What is your
current role in BAFA and how did you work up to that?
AG - I’m the Head
Coach of the Great Britain Women’s Flag Football team, and yeah, it still feels
great to say that. As well as the GB team I have a wider developmental role
organising and participating in the Topaz development days and of course The
Opal Series. I’m also looking to support BAFCA a little more; in fact I’m
giving a talk at the convention on the Friday.
UKFD - What is your
biggest BAFA achievement to date?
AG - In 2003 my
Leicester Eagles cadets, juniors and youth team all won their respective
national titles, but I think winning the European Junior Flag Football
Championship as OC for GB tops that, also in 2003.
UKFD - If you could
change two things within BAFA what would they be?
AG - BAFA is such a
big beast now, I’m sure there is room for improvement in some areas. However,
in my field I see the Women’s game growing and flag football in general bigger
than ever, so whilst I recognise a lot of people have worked really hard to get
us where we are and we need to continue with that, I’m pretty happy with the
ways things are going.
UKFD - What is on the
immediate horizon for you?
AG - I’m off to
Chorley on Saturday for a Topaz development day. That will include a morning
coaching session focusing on catching the football, snapping the football in
Shotgun formation and blitzing. In the afternoon there will be a three team
tournament between Chorley Bucs, Northants Titans and The Black Widows. The
Black Widows are made up of players from all over the country who have attended
the day, but their respective team hasn’t.
On June 27th we have
the final selection day for the GB women’s flag team. We have to select 15
players from the 32 that have been invited back to this, the second round in
the selection process. And then the small matter of the European Flag Football
Championships in Madrid this September.
UKFD - What are your
long term goals for BAFA?
AG - I want GB women
to be the dominant force in European flag football and the Opal Series to be
the biggest flag football league in Europe. Oh, and world peace.
We want to thank
Andrew for taking time out of his busy schedule, and wish him every success in
the future.
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