U19 GAMEDAY PREVIEW: WEEK ONE

Ahead of this weekend’s under-19 season opener against Nottingham Caesars, we had the pleasure of hearing from Head Coach, Jack O’Beirne as he speaks candidly about this thoughts for the 2025 season.

HC Jack O’Beirne, once again leads Knights U19 into battle again this season.

As we head into the opening game of our 2025 campaign, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what’s been an eventful and at times challenging off-season.

One of the natural side effects of developing talent is that our players grow beyond us — and that’s a good thing. This off-season has seen our athletes called up to Great Britain national camps, selected for regional squads, and committing to colleges and universities both here in the UK and overseas. That’s a huge point of pride for our program, but it also means that we’ve rarely had our full team together at any single training session.

That said, the players who have been at practice have worked incredibly hard. Their focus and determination have stood out, and we’ve laid solid foundations as a group. This year, we introduced our "Earn Your Stripes" program across the entire academy — a culture-building initiative that rewards players who show E.A.T: Effort, Attitude, Toughness. I’m proud to say that we’ve already handed out a good number of stripes, which tells us that the players are truly buying into our standards and expectations.

We’ve also seen some exciting transitions, with several of our U16 players making the jump up to the U19 level. That’s what this program is all about — building a clear, supported pathway for young athletes. At the same time, we’ve had to say goodbye to some core players from last season who’ve either aged out or moved on to university. So this year's squad will undoubtedly have a new look and identity.

Of course, we always want to win. But I firmly believe that a successful season isn’t measured solely in the win-loss column. It’s about how many young people we introduce to the sport, how many we help develop — not just as athletes, but as people — and how many go on to do great things in football and life.

This weekend, fans can look forward to seeing a wave of new talent make their debut. Former U16 standouts like Harrison Bridge (OL), Zak Perryman (LB), Charlie Beart (QB), and running backs Tommy-Lee Jubane and Kalan Hall are all set to make an impact. We’ll also witness the first American football game for Mo Sule and Braydon Contina — two exciting additions who joined us this off-season, and Sam Griffiths (WR) who recently transferred from South Wales.

I say this often, but it always rings true — to be successful, it's going to take everybody. That means players, coaches, support staff, and yes, our incredible parents. Everyone plays a role in helping this program move forward.

So with that, let’s kick off this season. Let’s see how far we can grow, push, and build between now and August.