Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , Newcastle Red Bulls winger Christian Wade has compared the demands of professional rugby union and the NFL after making his name in both codes.
The former England man has explained how the intensity of an NFL pre-season differs from international rugby preparation, why personal responsibility is everything in America , and what the NFL taught him about elite sport.
Wade has also reflected on what it really means to make it in the NFL , and revealed whether he has any regrets about not crossing the Atlantic sooner in his career.
Two Different Worlds
How Does NFL Pre-Season Compare to Rugby Preparation?
They're both intense, but in completely different ways. As an athlete in America , you're responsible for getting yourself physically and mentally prepared before you even arrive. When you get to the team, the demands are what they are. You will either keep up, or you'll fall away, and if you fall away, someone else is ready to take your position.
When I did a training camp for the Buffalo Bills , our days would start with an 8:00 am meeting, and I wouldn't get back to the dorms to rest until about 9:30 pm. Most of the day would be meetings. We'd have a two-hour session on the field, which would be very intense, individual skills, team skills, special teams, offence, and defence. Other than that, it is literally meetings and walkthroughs.
Being in a rugby environment is more of a physical slog on your body. In the NFL , it's more about your mind thinking quicker than other people. The strain or the stress on your body is just completely different.
Do You Have to Be Ready the Moment You Arrive?
Exactly. For instance, right now the guys in the league are on their summer break. They have a five-week block, and guys will be working with their own personal trainers. I'm about to go see my trainer after this, and there will be a couple of NFL guys there working on drills, catching, and blocking.
There's a massive personal responsibility to ensure you are at the fitness level you need to be. In the UK , they give you everything you need; they build you up to be ready. That doesn't happen freely in the NFL .
The NFL Mindset
What Did the NFL Teach You About Professional Sport?
Growing up, I always wanted to play American sports. I originally wanted to play in the NBA . I studied American sports, their personalities, and how they do things. Trying to emulate that in the UK was difficult because our culture is very different. But when I went to America , those things I held onto were able to come out because I was in an environment that accepts and celebrates that mentality.
The preparation was on a whole other stratosphere. Coming in as an undrafted player without a history in the sport, I didn't get many reps. They favour the veterans. So, a lot of my learning was done through watching film and visualisation. I literally had to visualise running a play I'd never run before, so that if I got called up in a game situation, I was ready as if I'd run it a hundred times.
Even down to taking notes in meetings, you had to find a way to stay focused for hours. It's like a boot camp on a whole new level!
Making It
Could Anyone Make It in the NFL if You Couldn't?
It's definitely possible. But you have to understand what it means to make it over there. In the UK , people think making it means getting a four-year, $60 million contract. That's what gets publicised. But
if you speak to anyone in America , just making it to an NFL roster is a massive achievement because so many people try and fail.
Getting paid those huge contracts is reserved for the higher-ups in terms of marketing and what the league wants to push. If you can earn the badge and be on a team for a few years, you've succeeded. The average NFL career is only about two and a half years. I was there for three years and actually had another year left, but then I tore my shoulder. I went over a bit too late and was unfortunate with my injury. Otherwise, I would have seen myself still being over there for a few more years.
Regrets
Do You Regret Not Going Sooner?
I wouldn't say it's a regret, but I actually had the opportunity to go before the 2015 World Cup . I was doing some training behind the scenes in 2014, a video was sent over, and I had a contract on the table. But I wasn't going to get the blessing from Wasps to go, so I decided not to.
It was on my mind for a few years, especially after I didn't get selected for the 50-man squad for the 2015 World Cup . Three years later, I reached out and said, look, if the opportunity is still there, I'm ready to go. Everything happens for a reason, but if I had gone to America sooner, maybe to college there, it definitely would have been a different story. The college system helps build your backstory, and the NFL is all about building narratives to sell tickets and jerseys.
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