This Cheetah’s On Fire

If you thought that all the talented athletes were to be found in BAFA’s Premier divisions you would be wrong. There are some very gifted and capable individuals playing further down the Britball pyramid. A great example of this can be found within the roster of the Hertfordshire Cheetahs in the form of running back Adam Adeniji. At 6’1” and a chiselled 205lbs, he is an impressive athlete, add in his breakaway speed and you have the combination that it striking fear into opposition defences across the division 2 SFC south.

The Cheetah’s programme is one of the longest establish in the UK. You can date the lineage back to 1986 when they were formed as the Chiltern Cheetahs. As with other clubs over the years, a shifting home ground has led to them being known by other names, they were the Watford Cheetahs for a spell, before adopting their Hertfordshire nomenclature in 2014. Last season was disappointing, ending with relegation as the programme suffered, following numerous player departures. Now re-built and based in St Albans, they find themselves in the Southern group of the second division, where they have started the new season with two sizeable wins. Week one saw them deliver a crushing 63-0 beating of the Hastings Conquerors, which they followed up in week two with an equally impressive win against the fancied Berkshire Renegades by a 50-14 score line.

Whilst some may think he should be playing at a higher level, Adeniji talks of a great team spirit in the camp, as being one of the reasons why he chooses to stay and develop with the Cheetahs. In his first season with them, he was voted players player of the year, and now represents those players on the club’s committee. His modest demeanour also dictates that he feels he is still learning his craft.

His path to the gridiron was via the burgeoning British University League. There are currently over eighty teams in that competition, and it provides an excellent entry point for interested individuals to get involved. Adam was historically an accomplished soccer player and track athlete (specializing in the 100 and 200 metre disciplines), but after initially playing soccer at Nottingham Trent, he was drawn to the Renegades football programme as an exciting new challenge to exercise his prodigious talents. He had something of an epiphany when he saw a video of then Georgia running back, Todd Gurley. It was not just the pure speed, running style, and physicality of Gurley that made an impact, but also the dedication the future NFL star applied to his training regimen. Discipline was something Adam already had when it came to his sporting endeavours, all he needed to do now was learn a new sport, from the bottom up.

He was fortunate at Trent to have one of the sharpest offensive minds in the university league to help him develop, in the shape of former Nottingham Caesars running back, Scott Messom. As the Renegades offensive co-ordinator Messom could dedicate his time to helping Adeniji as he set out on his football journey. He remembers those early days well “Adam came to us as a soccer player at the start of his second year in University. He had a raw talent and loads of athletic ability, was a pleasure to coach and a great team player who always wanted to improve. He was very coachable, listened and took on board what he was being told. It’s great to see him carry on in the game and great to see him fulfilling the potential we all knew he had”.

Although he is an impact player, the Cheetahs don’t just rely on him to carry the load, they have a well-rounded offensive, with head coach Roger Brown introducing Adeniji for maximum effect. Rotating him with fellow running backs, Dan Levitt and Conor Wilson, defences get no respite when Hertfordshire have the ball. If the Cheetahs can continue to show the form they have to this point, I’d expect to see them back in division one next season where Adeniji will have the opportunity to test himself once more, at a higher level. He is an amateur sportsman with the mind-set of a professional athlete, combining his studies (he is currently taking a masters degree) with an exacting strength and conditioning programme, and of course football practice and games. He’s also ambitious, he took feedback from friends who attended recent try-outs for the Great Britain senior team and is minded to give it a go next year, if he thinks he is ready. To help understand how defences will react to him, he’s been taking some practice reps at defensive end, knowledge when combined with talent is a potent combination, and Adam Adeniji has both.

Cheetahs action images - Courtesy of Kyle Hemsley