On a windy Thursday evening in the Garda RFC in Westmanstown, 20 young IAFA players from around the country took part in the first coaching clinic to be held in Ireland by Cecil Martin, a former Philadelphia Eagles fullback and current pundit on Sky Sports’s coverage of the NFL.
Cecil began the session with dynamic stretching before taking the players through their paces in NFL combine-style drills including the 40 yard dash, three cone drill and pro-agility. With the assistance of IAFA coaches, Cecil then took the players through correct football techniques such as how to block, receiver and running back drills and defensive coverage. The end of the session had the players put everything they learned into practice with a scrimmage session, guided by Cecil and IAFA coaches.
Cecil also finished up the clinic by speak with the players to spread his positive message about the importance of hard work, focus and perseverance, and talked about his rise from not having a college scholarship offer to running out in front of 100,000 people as a Philadelphia Eagle. After the clinic, Cecil took the time to speak with each player individually about their experiences.
