Former professional rugby player Tadhg Leader is returning to his roots in the search for American Football Kicking talent in Ireland
Ireland’s Kicking King, an initiative from Leader Kicking, comes to Dangan Sportsground on August 14 in the search for potential American Football kickers.
Leader Kicking was founded by former Connacht and US Rugby player Tadhg Leader in 2022 to create a path for potential Irish punters and kickers. The initiative looks to find some of Ireland's best GAA, rugby and soccer talent over this period.
Despite its short existence, the Galway native has already unearthed some serious talent with former underage GAA stars Ronan Patterson and Ross Bolger securing division one scholarships in top US College programmes.
Ireland’s Kicking King is currently touring the country and anyone over the age of 15 of any gender is encouraged to attend. Whether talented young person, or a 50 year old who has a good strike of a ball, and "everyone in between", the former Connacht player says: "This event is for you."
"Our goal is to create a fun environment where people from any sporting background can give kicking American Football a try."
The top performers from each regional location will compete alongside the best performers from across the country in Energia Stadium on August 25 in front of thousands of fans, providing the half-time entertainment for the Global Football showcase which features teams from across the world.
In addition, Ireland’s Kicking King 2023 winner will be flown to America, hosted in a hotel, andgiven an experience at a Pittsburgh Steelers NFL game.
Despite being on the road for less than a week, Ireland’s Kicking King is taking social media by storm with two of its videos in the past week breaching the magic one million views mark.
Tadhg Leader, founder of Leader Kicking, says: “As a nation of kickers, I’m firmly of the belief that Ireland has a wealth of untapped potential for American Football and I aim to provide talented youngsters a pathway to the phenomenal opportunities that come with a scholarship.
"We’re very much looking forward to putting on a fun event for all levels of ability and with some luck we may even find Ireland’s next NFL star.”
To sign up visit LeaderKicking.com
