The second EAFL campaign is nearly over with next Friday’s Desert Bowl left to play and so far the UAE season finale has been the domain of the Dubai Stallions and the Abu Dhabi Wildcats.
The teams meet again for the second straight year and the Wildcats are desperate to make it two wins out of two. But a club is so much more than just what happens on the pitch on a Friday afternoon.
The Abu Dhabi Wildcats, like their competitors, have a team at all levels from the senior team to the varsity, junior varsity and peewee teams. Basically if you are eight years old or older, there is a team you can join and a family ready to welcome you in.
This year has seen the introduction of a peewee league after numbers demanded an expansion. The Wildcats have a blend of players all brought under the tutelage of Dave Davis who realises that to be a Wildcat means more than just being able to play American football.
Not to say improving at the sport isn’t something that won’t happen. “I took over the team with assistant coach Chris Garcia after the Christmas break and the team had never scored a touchdown,” Davis said.
“We got the team together for two practices, they worked really hard, they listened to everything we taught them and they scored two touchdowns.
“It’s a real mix of expats and one local and two kids from India, so it’s very different with different levels of expertise; half the team had never played before. It’s not just teaching the game, that’s one of the interesting things about coaching.
“The league itself is very positive, they’re promoting a safe environment and at the Wildcats we emphasise discipline, teamwork, competition and pushing a positive atmosphere where we’re not just teaching football, we’re teaching life lessons.
“I think football is the only game that teaches real fundamentals of life; if you get knocked down you have to get back up.”
At whatever level you play, training is twice a week. The Wildcats already boast an 85-man membership and it grows by the year.
Membership is non-discriminatory, any player of any quality looking to enjoy American football is welcomed with open arms at the Wildcats and at any club.
Fees vary at different levels, for the Wildcats, a place on the PeeWee team (8-11) is Dh1,800 per season, Junior Varsity (12-14) is Dh1,900, Dh2,000 for Varsity (15-18) and Dh1,600 for men.
Davis adds: “It has been an absolute pleasure spending time with these young athletes teaching them the game of American Football. The only game that focuses on team discipline, organisation, strategy, conditioning as well as promotes life-skills.”
A QUICK SNAP
In such a young league,the Abu Dhabi Wildcats have still managed to stand out, they are current reigning champions of the EAFL having won the first Desert Bowl last year with a 21-12 win over the Dubai Stallions at the Jebel ali centre of Excellence.
The Wildcats will return to the showpiece this year despite a middling regular season where they will again face the Stallions. Abu Dhabi pulled off a stunning win to reach the final, beating the in-form Dubai Barracudas 40-0 in one of the outstanding performances of the year.
This year the game will be at the Dubai Sports city complex – the new home of the EAFL where the league has an office and many teams train there as well.
The Wildcats also possess the men’s reigning MVP in Vivaldi Tulysse, a running back and quarterback of devastating quality.
The Desert Bowl is a must watch for any sports fan. The game kicks off on March 14 with the full smattering of american culture, hospitality and, above all, football. Can the Wildcats deliver a repeat?
