Will Harry Kane become a rugby star? (Part 1)

When veteran NFL coach Mike Westhoff was informed that Tottenham striker Harry Kane was interested in pursuing American football after retiring from football, he made the move.

Westhoff has been a football manager for 32 years with a wealth of experience in the major teams of the tournament. According to him, these teams will wait until they see a shot by an athlete before making a decision or comment on whether he is appropriate or not.

Idea that looks very different

Football players also have an advantage when it comes to being able to shoot, for example, Kane. But according to Westhoff, he will not rush to comment. Instead, he will invite Kane to a training session. “I will put the ball and say: Kick it. Then I will see what he can do with the offer, ”Westhoff told the Guardian daily.

Come to practice, ask him to play football, see how he does, all of this sounds simple. But here Westhoff means: It’s not easy. He has trained football players to be good rugby players – Pete Stoyanovich and Olindo Mare at the Miami Dolphins.

Westhoff has found that footballers who want to be rugby players are unlikely to play a new role. Recalling, he shared that he had invited two very successful football players, one from the Middle East, and one from South America to the Dolphins training ground. “But neither of them did well. They are not too bad. But also just a little bit good. They are not very efficient”, shared Westhoff.

Successful conversions from football to rugby are really rare. Tony Meola, of New Jersey, American goalkeeper at the 1994 World Cup, was signed by the New York Jets that summer in the hope of turning him into a rugby expert, because he created shuttlecock kicks. Subject burst in football. However, Meola has never played a powerful rugby shot, and he is also unable to create kicks important enough to prolong the time for his teammates to take the tackles. As a result, Meola was suspended after only the third match of the pre-season.