The Cardiffian’s ex-Team GB pentathlete Alexandra Bousfield tries a contact sport for the first time
A RECORD-BREAKING 128 million viewers tuned in to watch the Super Bowl last weekend – and a growing number of them are from the UK.
The traditionally American sport has been slowly expanding into Europe and The National Football League (NFL) will play six games on the continent this year, with three in London.
And a small portion of those 128 million viewers are from Cardiff.
I first began talking to Wales’ only female American Football team – Cardiff Valkyries – in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl to write an article about them and the sport’s growing popularity.
But when they invited me to train with them – and after watching the big game on TV – I was keen to find out if it’s just as exciting to play as it is to watch.
Rookie day
The Cardiff Valkyries meet at 10:30am, in Moorland Park. I turned up with my gumshield and a lot of layers, ready for the session.
As an ex-GB pentathlete I have done a fair number of different sports, but I have never played a contact sport.
After watching the NFL, where players smash into each other at full force, I was quite apprehensive.
I met up with the squad and was immediately greeted with a warm welcome, three very adorable dogs, and some huge pads to try on.
I was joining the girls on a rookie day, which meant there were other slightly lost-looking people to make me feel slightly more at ease.
Sian McCarthy, on her second session said she would like to be a regular at the club.
Green day: Jen Davies lets a fellow rookie pass. Credit: Penallta Photographics
Kitting up
I tried on the Valkyrie green trousers with pads inside and shimmied them up to cover my knees and thighs. This added weight but I was quite pleased that I had cushioning over my hips and knees.
Then came the shoulder pads and helmet, which added considerable heft and strain on my neck.
All this kit restricted my movement and quite often when I was looking for the ball, I had to turn my head because I had very little peripheral vision.
But I got used to the kit the more that I played and it cushioned my shoulders in tackles.
Once we had all put on our kit, we started warming up and doing some drills to practice crucial elements of the game.
I found out pretty quickly through taking a few hits that I was designed to run away from the tackles and catch the ball, which made me an offensive player.
I tried out as a wide receiver in the plays, which meant either stopping the defence from getting to the quarterback or running to catch the ball.
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My favourite part of the kit was the sticky gloves that made it almost impossible to drop the ball.
The vibe of the group was very encouraging, and I really enjoyed learning all the plays, where I tried to get around the defence and go for the ball.
My favourite bit of the session was going into the huddle, where the quarterback tells you all the plays. To be honest, it made no sense to me most of the time but Ruth Lewis, one of the coaches, explained where I should go and how to get around my defender.
The sense of community among the team was apparent and I could understand how empowering it is to go head-to-head with another player and win.
The sense of community among the team was apparent and I could understand how empowering it is to go head-to-head with another player and win.
There is so much to learn in this sport and the sense of community helping was what made me enjoy it so much.
- The Valkyries play at 10:30am on Sunday in Moorland Park
- They are part of the 7-a-side National Women’s Football League
- To find out more information you can find them on Instagram and Facebook
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