Top American Football Academy Heading to Belgium

Luther Rommens | American Football | 12/05/2015

Renowned American football teaching coach Darin Slack and his elite football academy – NFA – will be in Belgium on March 30-31 in Antwerp, Belgium, right on the Belgian-Dutch border, to hold an elite quarterback football camp. The Flemish American Football League (FAFL) and the Walloon American Football Association (LFFA) in Belgium have joined forces to invite Slack and put together a premier event and help to continue developing American football in northwest Europe.

Darin Slack is one of the world’s leading authorities on teaching and developing quarterback fundamentals.The founder/president of the NFA, Coach Slack has helped train over 40,000 coaches and athletes as he travels all over the United States to help quarterbacks at all levels. In fact, several NFL players have benefited from his expertise including Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles. In other words, this is a very special event for the region.

We had a short conversation with camp organizer Joris Verhelst.

Why hold this camp?

Quite simply we wanted to boost the level of American football in Belgium. The national team has already begun making great strides forward, but it should go beyond that. In Coach Slack we have attracted a coach who can truly help the players at a fundamental level. But not only that: Coaches can attend the entire camp at a very attractive rate, so they can share their knowledge as well as help their own team. With this type of quality camp, the teams in Belgium cannot help but get that much better. And if the players and coaches are better, so too will football in Belgium.

What does the camp offer?

Coach Slack will provide a full program of two days. Over the course of the two days he will go over passing mechanics, footwork and run game mechanics. In addition, he will also offer video analysis. Coaches will also have a chance to learn about Coach Slack’s R4 system, which is a method helping quarterbacks and receivers to make better and faster decisions. It winds up with a two-hour session in which receivers may participate free of charge. They will learn to time their routes to match the footwork of the quarterback. All in all it will be an absolute top event.

Is the event supported by the Belgian leagues?

The FAFL and the LFFA will support the camp both financially and logistically. They will help with the promotion and organisation of the event. Financially they will support the event and they will partly refund the attending coaches and players.

Is there a plan for more camps in the future?

Beforehand we said that much would depend on the interest shown by players and coaches. If we have high attendance, it will be easier in future to attract more good coaches. And all in all we are hopeful that it will catch on. Two days after the announcement we had already filled 30% of the quarterback spots. With four months to go we still have some time to fill the other places. This tells us that there really is a hunger for knowledge in Belgium and Holland!

Quarterbacks can attend the camp for €150 per player (€50 gets refunded by the FAFL and €10 by the LFFA). There are 30 slots available for quarterbacks.

Coaches can attend the camp for two days and can join a separate coaching clinic on day one for €50 per coach (€25 is refunded by the FAFL).

Receivers are welcome (free of charge) on the Thursday from 11 to 13:00. They will receive extra coaching.