By Benjamin Forant
Published on
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When the Conquerors of Caen (Calvados) enter the field, difficult not to notice them. If the sizes of the 40 players who make up the team are heterogeneous, all are guided by this desire to improve and make the team shine. “We want our team to be above all a family”, specifies Mehdi Hamoud, president of the club for four years.
At the start of 2022, the city’s American football team is launching its season. On Sunday February 13, she lost at home to the Caymans of Le Mans (28-2). Nothing to worry about the president. “We have a workforce which, for the majority, is new to this sport. 75% took their first American football license in September 2021.
A historic club
The club, currently in a period of transition, is a historic piece of sport in France. “US football arrived in France in 1982. Our club was founded in 1986, and is therefore one of the first in the history of the country, says Mehdi Hamoud. It had another name at the time: the Pink Panthers. We renamed ourselves Conquérants a bit later. »
Today, the team plays in the French third division, the Silver Helmet. “The championship works by zones. There are different pools of 4 or 5 teams, we play home and away matches, and the first in each zone as well as the best runners-up play the play-offs in a knockout match. »
But the particularity of this system is that the ascents and descents are not linked to sports performance.
To have the right to be in the discussion of a potential ascent to the next level, the club must prove with documents that it is in good health, whether at the level of development, administration etc. ..
Progress slowed down by the Covid
This last decade has seen American sports democratize at full speed in France. American football is no exception. “When I became president four years ago, we had 98 licensees. Over the years, we have progressed, exceeded the 100 mark and we are surfing on this fashion of US sports. »
But the health crisis has been there, and like many sectors, the club has been heavily affected. “A lot of old, veterans of the club jumped ship during this period. We therefore have a workforce that has been completely recomposed at the start of the season. This is why, even if the start of the championship does not take place until February 2022, the players have started training in September 2021.
We needed to review the basics, teach the new game book and create automatisms. American football works a lot on repeating sequences, again and again.
“Players are more and more protected”
Obviously, when we talk about American football, the question of the physical risk taken by the players comes up on the table. “I understand this question, it is a priority for everyone. But we are governed by NCAA rules (American university championship, editor’s note), which increasingly protect players. »
For example, the validity period of helmets has been reduced from 10 to 5 years. “From a financial point of view, it’s hard, because a helmet costs 285 euros. But as player manager, I am very happy with this decision. »
The structure does not skimp on the budget to highlight its discipline: “We know that complete equipment is very expensive and that it is a brake on our development. We have therefore decided to set up a rental at 45 euros/year for the helmet and the shoulder pads for each player, so that, if the sport is not liked, it is not an expense of several hundred euros in the empty. In addition, for the rest of the equipment (knee pads, hip pads, etc.), we resell them to our players without making any margin on them, where some companies do not deprive themselves. »
The Conquerors’ next home game will take place on Sunday March 20 at 2 p.m., at the Pomme d’Or stadium.
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