The Return To Sandwell
One of the UK’s top young quarterback talents is bucking the current trend and will be playing in the BAFA senior league this season. At a time when a wave of talented British players are moving into Europe to further their careers, Callum Davidson will be returning to Britain having had two successful seasons overseas, and will be lining up under centre for the Sandwell Steelers in the competitive division one midlands conference.
Davidson is a very talented athlete, that was evident when he first turned up at the Birmingham Bulls juniors at the age of fifteen. He had seen the NFL on TV and was anxious to get involved, when that outfit closed down he went to Sandwell Steelers, who at that point, didn’t have a junior team, so he was allowed to train with the senior squad. His home town of Dudley is conveniently placed between Sandwell and Birmingham, so when he heard that the Birmingham Lions juniors had formed he played his final year of junior football with them.
Not just gifted on the field, he is also a bright scholar and he enrolled at University College Birmingham to study sports therapy. Being part of the well established Lions programme helped him accelerate rapidly and he was soon gaining interest from European clubs due to his profile on the europlayers website. This young man also has the determination and application to match his athleticism, so in 2015 he moved to Sweden during the university summer break to play for the Hassleholm Hurricanes. He was a great success, so much so that he was scouted by German outfit, the Cottbus Crayfish. He returned to Birmingham to complete a further year of studies and then spent a second summer on the continent in the very competitive German league. Unfortunately, the season ended early for him when he was injured. This led to a lengthy period of re-hab, his studies in sports therapy helping him to understand the nature of his injury and how best to treat it.
Having played in Continental Europe has underlined for Callum that the British game is lagging behind in the opportunities it offers the more talented players. “I believe that BAFA as an organisation need to employ full time staff who's job it is to progress the sport. Finding ways to identify young talent and nurture it. At the moment, too many talented players are missing an opportunity to play in Europe or even the states. Great Britain have the talent and the athletes to compete abroad at any level. It has been proven by a range of people already. BAFA as an organisation need to step up and realise that the structure of British football, especially junior football, needs to change.
I think the people involved work hard but the organisation as a whole needs to become updated and follow European examples like AFVD the (German league) in particular
Back in the UK for the final year of his degree course, he is now at a point where he feels he can return to playing the sport he loves. Having played at both Junior and student level for the GB Lions, he is currently involved with the senior team and has been showing well over a number of camps, as GB head coach Mike Callan and his staff, sift through the talent available in preparation for the euro qualifier against Sweden in the autumn. Callum feels he has benefitted greatly through the process. “Being around (GB starting quarterback) Jerome Allen has been great. He has a lot of experience and you learn just by being around him”.
His primary goals for this season are making the final GB squad, which would be a great achievement, and also to help Sandwell gain promotion to the premier division. “Having practiced with the guys for a while now, I’d say we have the talent to do it. Looking at game tape from last year, we normally played at a good level but not all the time. This year consistency will be the key to our success”.
Looking into the future Davidson is mindful that once he graduates, he will need to focus on furthering his business career. He’ll be staying in the UK to do that, so hopefully we will see him exercising his prodigious arm talent in the British leagues for some years to come.