Star of Campus: Sam Asfahani





How did you get into American Football?

When I was growing up in London I played a good standard of rugby. One day there were some American
Football scouts there and they noticed that I could hit people but couldn't pass or catch! They told
me I could play a sport where all I'd do is tackle people so they got me down to a training session when
I was about 16.

What club was that for?
That was for London Olympians. They disbanded for a while and are reforming now which is cool.

What other clubs have you played for then?
York Centurions is the biggest one really. I set up the club in my first year and it was basically
a group of people who loved NFL. I played a season for Doncaster Mustangs too.

What would you like to see from the York Centurions over the next few years now that they're 
starting to win games?
Well when I was President in our first year we lost all our games, the season after when Tim Blades
was President we won 4, lost 4, making the Plate playoffs, and this year so far we've won 2 lost 1
which is a great start. The boys put in a lot of effort so I'm hoping they become a yearly play-off
contender. The biggest thing though is to win at Roses, we've beaten Lancaster before, but never in Roses.
You coach as well as play don't you?
Yeah, I've taken on a coaching role at York now and I coached GB Youth. It was one of the best experiences
of my life, we travelled all over Europe playing other countries. I was an assistant coach to begin with
and by the end of the programme I was a positional coach which was great. The programme hit a few funding
issues so it stopped for a while but it has started up again now and I'm thinking of reapplying for my role.
So is that what you're thinking of doing when you leave the uni then?
Yeah, absolutely. I love coaching and I love helping other people improve so yeah hopefully
I'll be back in the coaching scheme for GB Youth before long.
Have you ever considered going to America to coach?
I had a job offer to go over there and coach  at a college before I became a sabb. and I was really
thinking about doing it. It's hard for an Englishman to get over and play there but coaching-wise
we've got a lot to offer. It's always been something at the back of my mind to head over there so
I might still do it.

 Finally, you've been asked to carry the Olympic Torch how do you feel about that?
Apart from singing the national anthem in kit I think that's the second biggest thing that's ever
happened to me. It's really nice to know why I was nominated too. They asked for people who have
done a good service to sport in their community the University nominated me. It's nice that they
think that I've done enough to merit that so it's not so much carrying the torch but that people
actually thought to nominate me that makes me so proud.