I came to back to Cambridge this year determined to play a university sport; it didn’t matter which one. As it turns out, I am far too short for basketball, not quite European enough for volleyball, and I really can’t ice skate. Nor am I ever going to be desperate enough to resort to korfball.

American Football stood out as a sport which, despite being a little niche, had a serious team structure, training schedule, and played in a big BUCS league. It also had a cool logo, and the guys I met from the team were friendly. The Cambridge Pythons! The dream.

Training is fun; American football is fun. It is a cracking sport – fast, exhausting, and featuring the biggest hits in sport (come at me, rugger fans!). And the feeling of running out on a field in full pads and helmet is nothing short of awesome.

Play is similar to rugby, but with armour, and everyone hitting everyone at the same time.

Plus there is the added American bravado – whooping, hollering, big chants, everything to lend our windswept, hastily-converted football pitches the ambiance of a US college super stadium filled with bands, cheerleaders and thousands of fans.

The highlight of my rookie season so far was definitely the Varsity match against the ‘other place’.

We played Oxford at Grange Road with hundreds of our friends watching, commentary on CamFM and even a live stream online!

And we thrashed them (sort of – but we did win).

It was better than playing Cantebury, who called it off at half-time after a drubbing. We don’t talk about the Oxford Brookes match…

If you’re fit, keen, and looking for something a bit different, get involved!

Male or female (no gender discrimination here), a spritely wide-receiver or a lineman built like a brick-house, there is a position for you.

American football is the fastest growing sport in the UK, so jump on it.

We train hard, play big matches, meet to watch games and swap; we’re a team. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never even watched the sport before – most of the team hadn’t!

Plus my profile picture, in pads with a Cambridge jersey on, got 110 likes. Just sayin’.