The North Kildare Reapers came out on top of a very competitive debut IAFL-1 season in 2013, lifting the league trophy and earning a step up to the Shamrock Bowl Conference. Double Coverage (DC) caught up with Head Coach Brendan McAleese (BM), Defensive Coordinator David O’Connor (DOC), Line Coach Kees Groeneveld (KG) and Special Teams Coordinator Kevin Sharkey (KS) ahead of the 2014 season.
DC: Can you tell us a little about your football history? What got you into the sport and where have you played/coached before?
BM: My first taste of Football was in the early 80’s when Channel 4 began showing the NFL. I was immediately addicted and the bug was in my system. I was playing a lot of team sport at the time, GAA, Rugby etc, and when the Craigavon Cowboys formed in 1985/86 in my hometown I immediately got involved.
It was the inaugural season of the Shamrock bowl and the Cowboys took the trophy. I played in 4 Shamrock bowls as QB, RB and TE up to ’92; won 2, lost 2. During this time I also played for the national team against the semi-pro Marlboro Shamrocks from Boston as well as several other US based teams. A knee injury put me out for good although I was involved with the team for another few years on the sideline.
My next major involvement came 20 years later when I became Offensive coordinator with the newly formed North Kildare Reapers as I was now living in Kildare. I’d never coached at this level before this but had a lot of knowledge so I decided to use it.
DOC: 7 years ago myself and my friend were very interested in the game and he Googled it to see if the game was played in Ireland, and to our surprise it was and the closest team to us was a team in Tallaght called the Outlaws.
The minute I put the helmet and pads on I was hooked. I then moved to Castleknock to play with the West Dublin Rhinos, where I learned most of my defensive skills.
I then moved to the North Kildare Reapers, which was a young bunch of guys but very promising looking so I knew I could fit in well and share my knowledge of the defensive side of the ball.
KG: In 1984 I started playing football for a team called The Hague Raiders in the Netherlands. I joined them in the first month of their existence. For Dutch American football, 1984 was the year when it all started to kick off, with a lot of new teams starting to pop up all around the country. Most of our games that we played in the first 2 or 3 years were friendly, against foreign opposition – mainly German teams.
The first competitive season in the Netherlands was in 1985. Raiders ended up as third in the country. The next year 1986, the Raiders won the first Tulip Bowl (Dutch equivalent to the Irish Shamrock Bowl). History books were later amended and in the official annals the 1985 Champion Amsterdam Rams are now regarded as the winner of Tulip Bowl I (still bugs me)
As a player I went on to play in 4 more Tulip Bowls, winning one more trophy in my final year 1993. From 1986 to 1991 I also played 6 caps for the Dutch National team.
The Hague Raiders also had a development team, our second team who played in the Dutch 2nd Division in the late eighties. I was one of the coaches of that team and we went on to become Champions of the Second Division in 1990.
KS: I first got interested in American football watching television and wondering why these players wore the helmet and shoulder pads playing a game like Rugby. It was only when I went on holidays to Boston that I got to understand the game. I knew from then that I wanted to play.
I joined the Dublin Celts back in early 1986, contrary what many people say it was a team that was going in to decline. We lost against the Belfast Blitzers, then to the Craigavon Cowboys in Shamrock Bowl 1. Playing for the Cowboys that day was a certain Brendan McAleese. During the off season the Celts recruited many young players, and combined with our more experienced players, including players from the junior Celts, it made the nucleus of our successful championship winning team.
We were to win five Shamrock Bowls with the Celts, before the team folded in the early nineties, due to the huge amount of retirements.
I got to represent Ireland in the Euro Bowl qualifiers on four occasions, once against the Austrian Graz Giants and twice against the Birmingham Bulls from the UK. Sadly we lost to these teams. However we had a resounding win against the Spanish Barcelona Boxers.
During this time I played with the national team, firstly against the USAF Lakenheath, in which we were soundly beaten by the Americans, but we put points against them on the board. Unfortunately this game seems lost from our history.
Secondly against the Northants Storm, in a game in which we had very few players, and were reduced to playing Ironman football.
After the Celts folded, I retired for the first time, only to be tempted back in to the game in 1996 to the Dublin Lightning team, where we won the Shamrock Bowl. I played for one more year and retired for the second time. In 2012 I joined the North Kildare Reapers as Head Coach and player.
DC: What was it like to lift the IAFL-1 trophy in your first season and achieve promotion to the Shamrock Bowl Conference?
BM: It was surreal but I knew the squad I was coaching offensively had a lot of raw talent that just needed to be tuned and coordinated into a unit. It was a tough road getting the commitment and we had a few hurdles along the way that nearly put us off the title road. To win in my first season as a coach was so different from as player as you felt you had all the responsibility to carry as opposed to just doing your own job as player. Two inaugural seasons and 2 championships as player and coach – it’s very satisfying. Promotion was the goal and we achieved it.
DOC: It was amazing, so far the best to happen me in the game. We worked and played very hard to show the older teams that the new guys had what it took to lift the silverware.
KG: That was a very nice surprise and for me personally, becoming involved with the Reapers after 20 years out of football and be able to share my knowledge with the players, smell the grass again and be part of a Championship Team in our first competitive season, was an absolute blast of an experience. Promotion to the SBC is the consequence of that performance, and will certainly mean we have to lift ourselves up to the next level.
KS: It was an excellent achievement to win the IAFL-1 Championship. It was a very close run battle, coming in the closing stages it could have been the Dragons or the Wolves that took it.
DC: How big do you expect the leap in quality from the IAFL-1 to the Shamrock Bowl Conference to be and how are the Reapers going to deal with this?
BM: The leap will be enormous for us as the gap in experience is so large for most of our players, alot of them rookies this year. Everything will be tougher; we have to be right in our fitness and game plan but most of all attitude and commitment. I just want the team to give it all and leave nothing behind. It will be steep learning curve but I believe we can compete.
DC: How have you strengthened this offseason?
BM: We have brought in quite a few rookies to both sides of the ball along with some experienced players to boost our already blooded squad. We have experience in offense in WR/RB Sean Leamy and RB Matty Kavanagh and QB Luke Bailey who shone in the IAFL last season along with a revamped O Line with anchored by veteran James Livermont. Ex Trinity player Damien Gillesen and a number of players such as Erin Kelly, James Lynam and Anthony O’Connor from the unfortunately demised Tullamore Phoenix who folded after last season. LB’s David O’Connor and Darren Reilly along with DE Thomas Brocklebank are leading a very stingy defense. Both sides of the ball have been strengthened considerably.
DC: You start the campaign against two old IAFL-1 rivals, the Waterford Wolves and the Dublin Dragons. How important will it be to get off to a good start?
BM: It is vital we take these 2 games, firstly to boost confidence and generate momentum; secondly we need to lay down a marker that last year was not a fluke and we are still very competitive. We have beaten both these teams last year, the Wolves last game to win the IAFL. Both these teams will have their sights firmly fixed on us and there is no room for error – in fact to progress this year losing is not an option with these first two games.
KG: You always want to win the first game of the season, any game for that matter. Our home opener against the Wolves will be against a team we met twice last season. I expect the Wolves will have improved a lot in the off season. They are well coached, well disciplined, and a good opponent to have in your first game because I am sure they will give us their best effort. The Dragons also have something to prove after we beat them only 2-0 in our matchup last season. After the first two games we will be able to get a better understanding of where we stand, and what we can realistically achieve this season.
DC: Coach O’Connor, as Defensive Coordinator how are you adapting your players to cope with the offensive units of the SBC?
DOC: Talking to them from experience, we will be up against some of the strongest and fastest offensive teams in the league, but I’ve great comfort knowing the 10 other players around me are as strong and fast. Constant reps of their coverage areas and team drills will have them ready.
DC: You have matches against the likes of the Dublin Rebels and Trinity College who both proved last year that they can rack up the points. How do you prepare for such challenges as the DC?
DOC: I tell the guys to enjoy the game and not to be under pressure, if their heads are in the game I know we can stop high scoring matches. These guys can hit hard so big teams will have to fight for every yard of the Reaper D.
DC: Do you believe you can test the more experienced SBC sides such as the Rebels and Trinity?
BM: I believe we can give them something to think about and the two mentioned we don’t meet until the latter part of the season so I would be hoping for momentum and confidence to have built then.
DC: Coach Groeneveld, how do you prepare your O & D lines for the rigors of the SBC compared to the IAFL1?
KG: Quite frankly there is not much difference in my approach to the players, other than to keep them grounded. The Championship is last year’s news. This is a new season and all players have to realize that it is going to be much harder, playing against better teams. Also the teams we bumped into last season and who also promoted to the SBC will have all improved and stepped up.
I strongly believe in repetition of the basic techniques, no matter who you play, it comes down to the proper stance, blocking / tackling techniques, quickness, and relentless effort on every play. Being consistent from one play to the next.
DC: Coach Sharkey, with special teams being played in every game this year how are you going about preparing your unit for the SBC? How is this different to preparations in the IAFL1 last year?
KS: I would have preferred if all the promoted teams, including ourselves, played another year of IAFL-1 with special teams, before being promoted. Special teams are tough, and there is a significant risk of injuries. To prevent this occurring practices have to be structured to factor in the kicking game, including chalkboard instruction.
DC: What are your aims for the season?
BM: To win, to compete well, keep the team injury free, so safety and technique is paramount, and to show we can play at this level consistently. To make the playoffs and know that nothing is impossible if you believe.
DOC: What every Coach/player wants, To WIN. But as DC to have the best Defence, the less points scored the better.
KG: For my linemen, I want to make them better technically and gel as a unit. We have a lot of new players that will be starting their careers, and I want to help them prepare mentally and physically for every game, one game at a time.
As a team I believe we should aim to reach the playoffs. That in itself would be a massive achievement, but certainly not a given.
KS: My aim is the same as it was in 1986, to win! I don’t expect overnight success in SBC, which would be nonsensical. In this Conference are the top teams in the country, they are here on merit. We have to display the same. There is no doubt in my mind that with our coaching team, and with the right players, we can win the SBC Championship.