Sport

Top GAA stars exploring opportunity of pro career in American football

Tadhg Leader talks about how Irish players can change the game in the USA

Pictured: Noah Byrne (Dublin) Ross Bolger (Laois) Mary Sugrue (Irish American Partnership) Charlie Schewe, (Delta Airlines) Ronan Patterson, (Cavan) Tadhg Leader, (Founder of Leader Kicking))
Pictured: Noah Byrne (Dublin) Ross Bolger (Laois) Mary Sugrue (Irish American Partnership) Charlie Schewe, (Delta Airlines) Ronan Patterson, (Cavan) Tadhg Leader, (Founder of Leader Kicking))

Top Gaelic footballers have shown interest in professional careers in American football, according to a Galway-based former rugby player who oversees a project to introduce Irish sportsmen to the game and help them hone their kicking skills.

Professionalism is not new to Gaelic games, with players shipping off to Australia to play in the AFL for more than a decade.

However, now there is a new interest in Irish players for their kicking and punting skills in American football.

Tadhg Leader, an ex-professional rugby player from Galway, has witnessed firsthand the benefits of Irish kickers playing America's game and wants to open the door for more of the island's best to try their hand on the gridiron.

This opportunity has even caught the eye of some of the top names in Gaelic football, according to Leader.

He said: "I need to connect with the elite, guys who have top-end ability and, thankfully, they've been the ones reaching out to me.

"Some are All-Ireland winners and Allstars in Gaelic football actually."

The highest level of American football, the National Football League (NFL), is one of the most lucrative levels of professional sport there is.

In the AFL, the average salary for a player is $406,000 AUS (£213,152) and in the NFL, the average salary for kickers is $2.5 million USD (£1,965,150).

Tadhg Leader, Former Connacht and Major League Rugby side New England Freejacks fly-half
Tadhg Leader, Former Connacht and Major League Rugby side New England Freejacks fly-half

American football has been a growing interest in Ireland over the last number of years, from the growing domestic leagues to the hosting of college games in Dublin's Aviva Stadium and even an NFL franchise expanding its programs to Ireland.

Over the last few years, the interest has not only grown in watching and playing domestically, but players are starting to spread their wings and fly to the dizzying heights of college football in the USA.

Leader started 'Leader Kicking' after playing professional American Football in Las Vegas, a program run by him and some of the top names in Irish sports coaching and American football coaching, to advance the potential of Irish players who show promise at kicking and punting.

Speaking to the Irish News, former Conacht academy graduate Leader said: "Right now, the interest in the training regime is at around 450 people. 

"Of that, 30 per cent have either played inter-provincial rugby or inter-county gaelic football."

The kicking skills learned from both rugby and Gaelic football are transferrable to the game of American Football and Leader's program has already borne fruit for a native player.

Idaho State Bengal and former Laois U-20 Ross Bolger (left) alongside ex-Connacht star Tadhg Leader (Leader Kicking)
Idaho State Bengal and former Laois U-20 Ross Bolger (left) alongside ex-Connacht star Tadhg Leader (Leader Kicking)

Ross Bolger was offered a full division one scholarship from the Idaho State Bengals as a punter and kicker for their college team.

This was a spark that lit a fire that could let Irish players burn bright on the world stage.

Tadhg with two of his protégé's, Ross Bolger and Rónán Patterson, at Dublin airport on their way to the USA     pic: Tadhg Leader
Tadhg with two of his protégé's, Ross Bolger and Rónán Patterson, at Dublin airport on their way to the USA pic: Tadhg Leader

On the same trip around colleges, Rónán Patterson from Cavan was offered a full scholarship to the Monmouth Hawks college program as a kicking specialist.

After this story of success, Tadhg and Ross have been gaining national attention, appearing on talk shows, multiple media outlets and podcasts and all over social media.

(L-R) Muireann O'Connell, Ross Bolger, Tommy Bowe and Tadhg Leader on Ireland AM       pic: Tadhg Leader
(L-R) Muireann O'Connell, Ross Bolger, Tommy Bowe and Tadhg Leader on Ireland AM pic: Tadhg Leader
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College football scholarships in America are extremely prestigious, with players devoting their entire childhoods and risking their bodies from a young age to give themselves an opportunity for a better future.

This opportunity would be an attractive prospect to anyone as university costs grow more and more expensive in Ireland.

Scholarships can be worth north of $250,000 (£196,750) and can help players develop their athletic skills with specialist coaching as well as get themselves a qualification for the future.

Tadhg has dedicated himself to providing the players he trains with all the tools to do what he has done and more.

He has high ceilings for the players he trains but firmly believes in his project and what Irish-born players can achieve, if they can just line up and kick straight.

He said: "I can see this going in the direction of Irish men playing in the NFL and Irish men winning the Super Bowl, and I mean an Irish-born, Irish-raised and Irish-trained."

Sporting the stereotypically Irish ginger hair, he ended his mission statement with "I am very confident that that is going to happen before my hair is grey."

These statements were ambitious to hear but also ones that may fill Irish players with hope that there is a pathway to use their sport for the betterment of themselves and to, perhaps, improve sports back home by following in Tadhg's studded footsteps.