At the end of his contract with the French sevens rugby team, Joachim Trouabal has launched a new challenge. He is currently in England, in Loughborough, to take part in American football detections organized by the NFL: the international combines. If his profile catches the eye of recruiters, he could enter the international player pathway, like a certain Louis Rees-Zammit…
What do these three days of detections consist of?
It is a program which aims to integrate non-American players in the NFL. There are physical tests. There are also jumping tests, quickness tests, agility tests, etc. Then, there are specific training sessions for each position. I am a receiver (roughly the winger whose aim is to receive the quarterback’s passes, Editor’s note). We will not be evaluated on our footballing ability because many of us have never played it. The coaches are trying to project themselves onto us, see if our qualities will allow us to adapt to US football and what we have to work on. We are supervised by former professional players. There is a staff of six, seven coaches, who observe us. I arrived excited! I’m going there with determination but also full of humility because it was a sport that I didn’t know. I want to show what I’m worth physically.
What is your program?
The first day, in the morning, we had the physical tests. We did the 40 Yards (sprint over 36.6m, Editor’s note) that Americans use a lot. The recruiters also assessed our alertness during exercises with cones. We also did long jump workshops. We had meetings, class sessions. I’m the only receiver, so I was alone with the coach who takes care of that position. He explained to me the rules of the game and the subtleties of the position. Then we went out into the field in the afternoon to do specific work by position. Except for one time when I was with a tight end, I worked alone. We ran routes, we worked a lot on how to receive the ball but above all how to secure it, which is very different from rugby! We also trained a little with the young people from the NFL academy. It’s a program that trains young non-Americans to join, perhaps one day, a franchise.
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And the second day?
We were tested on the bench press and our vertical relax in the morning. In the afternoon we participated in our last field training. We also had a lot of meetings, like the day before.
What are the profiles of the other participants?
There really is everything! In terms of football, some have already been pros in Canada, in Europe, or in university. Others have never touched a ball, or even put on crampons in their life! There, for example, I’m in a room with a South African who was at the Olympics, he’s doing discus throwing. There are three of them doing this sport. They are evaluated on their ability to move. But they are there because they have great physical potential. Besides, there are certain guys, physically, I’ve rarely seen that, even in rugby! Some are real monsters! I have the smallest size.
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How did you train for this event?
I prepared myself physically to run. For the football part, I didn’t have a quarterback with me, but someone was throwing footballs to me. They sent me what we call routes: these are the races that I had to work on. I trained on this. The Mousquetaires, the only French professional team, were playing in their final phase, so I was not able to train with them.
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It was done through my agent. When my lease ended, we didn’t really look for a new project. This opportunity came at the beginning of summer and I said: “I want to try this adventure.” Recruiters were looking for great physical potential, so either very strong or very fast profiles.
Did you follow American football before having this opportunity?
Yes, for several years, even if it was sometimes quite far away. I had already inquired a few years ago about, why not, going to play in university there. But I did it too late, I was told that I was too old. There, the door reopens! I hope I can validate this step. I watch the best teams play but I can’t support one.
Christan Wade tried his luck in American football, Louis Rees-Zamit too, currently. Did their journeys give you any ideas?
I think I would have taken this opportunity without them. They may have paved the way for rugby players to be taken more seriously. But it was an idea that I had in the back of my mind before they went there.
The Englishman failed to play an official championship match before returning to rugby, the Welshman has already changed teams to hope to do better than the former Racing player. Why do you think rugby players can’t play in the NFL?
I think there are two things. The first is the ability to adapt to a new sport, to learn, because it is a very cerebral discipline. You have to be able to remember all the races and combinations from scratch. The second is the ability to get on a physical level, in terms of speed or explosiveness, for example. This is what I am working on and what I want to prove during these selections. Then, if the adventure continues, I will have to show that I can record a large quantity of information than what one can have in this sport which is much more tactical than rugby!
What are the differences with rugby?
There are plenty of them. Physically, already. For the same size, footballers are more explosive than in rugby. Everything goes faster, the jumps go further. They’re more athletes! In terms of the game, everything is programmed. Today, we played seven against seven in training, between us. We also played against the young people from the academy and I loved it! When the quarterback calls the combination, you know exactly what you’re going to run, the distance of the sprint before receiving the ball. Once you have it, you do what you want. But first, you know exactly what you have to do, everything is prepared. There are hundreds of combinations, so you have to learn everything! It’s a much more mental game. In rugby, you do what you want with the ball, even before you move as you please to stand out. There it’s different. You have to stand out in a certain way and not otherwise, otherwise the quarterback won’t even look at you because he’s expecting you at a certain time in a certain place.
And to your position more specifically?
I learned to catch the ball the American football way which is very different from rugby. Same in how to secure the ball. There is a lot of subtlety in the game. With the helmet, the vision is different. With all the protections, travel is not the same.
Is the way the group lives the same?
Nothing to see! In rugby, everyone encourages each other, but even more so! Everyone pushes each other. On the bench press, everyone was around the bench supporting each other! On every run, on every rep. It’s an American mentality.
Are you a fan of US culture more generally?
I love sport and, above all, this mentality that Americans have around performance and its optimization. Nobody trains like them! I love the development phases they have and their way of looking at physical performance. I am obviously a fan of American football where we find all of this!
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