Lance Leota has been playing for Leipzig in the inaugural European League of Football season. Photo / Instagram
Lance Leota has been playing for Leipzig in the inaugural European League of Football season. Photo / Instagram
New Zealand's Lance Leota will have the chance to impress NFL scouts next month as one of 44 players selected for the NFL International Combine, along with fellow Kiwi Shawn Tuione. Leota speaks to Christopher Reive from Hamburg, Germany, about his journey.
Lance Leota is making the most of hissecond chance.
In 2017, Leota made a decision he knew would put an end to his hopes of a professional career in American Football, leaving behind a promising junior college career with Grossmont College in California - and scholarship offer with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff - in order to return to Auckland to be with his sick mother.
"I was getting ready for one of our games against Fullerton and I got a phone call from my brother with some bad news, saying mum had cancer so the decision is on me: if I see fit to go further for my future or come back home," the 25-year-old recalls.
"I spoke to my team, coaches, they sent me back home."
The defensive lineman had spent years working towards his goal of a career in the sport.
Admittedly "not really a rugby kid", Leota stumbled upon one of Auckland's American football teams training while walking through the park with a friend one day, and decided to give it a try.
His passion grew from there, and the promise he showed on the field caught the attention of former NFL linebacker Richard Brown. Brown reached out to him and helped to get him set up to further his ability by attending Leone High School in American Samoa.
It was there he had his first real inkling that he might just be suited to the game.
"We were playing the championship," Leota recalls. "I was getting through there pretty good and I remember telling myself I didn't think it was that easy. Then I processed through to JuCo (junior college) and I was having a field day a few times, so I told myself I had to keep it going.
"I had good support on the sidelines, good people around me motivating me to keep going and keep pushing."
Lance Leota has been playing for Leipzig in the inaugural European League of Football season. Photo / Instagram
His talent led to his scholarship offer with the UAPB - which came through on his birthday in 2016 - but in returning home Leota gave up his eligibility with the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
"I couldn't attend school again after that," he explains. "My clock ended and unfortunately my football career too.
"It's one of those things where you choose your priorities. Of course, my mother was my priority and my family. I came back, stayed with her for a bit - for her last breath - and figured I had to stay with the family; that was more important.
"It was rough, but it was more my father. I just had to play the part, be there for him, and provide moral support for the family as well; keep them up, their spirits up, which drove me to be the player I am today. Everything I'm doing now, it's because I've had a past and I have to do it for my family."
While back in New Zealand supporting his family, Leota continued to play the game he loved, joining the South Auckland Raiders in the New Zealand American Football League.
He didn't expect to go any further in the game, and was content with that.
Then, one morning he got a random phone call that changed everything for him.
"I was sleeping and got a phone call around 1am. It was a recruiter. He gave me a phone call asking if I was still fit to go and if I could play in the [European] league; I have the opportunity in front of me and it's all on me.
"I talked to my partner, talked to my family, they all supported me through it. They said to me if I could see the light through it then take it.
"Of course, I took it. I'm here now and living my best life."
In April, Leota set off for Germany to play in the inaugural season of the European League of Football for the Leipzig Kings.
The team finished the season with a 5-5 record, narrowly missing out on a spot in the playoffs due to dropping their final match of the season to the Wroclaw Panthers which saw the Panthers qualify instead.
However, Leota made a major impact for the team and was named in the All-Star Game, set to take place in early October.
It will be the start to a big month for Leota, who has also secured one of 44 spots at the NFL's International Combine in London on October 13 (NZ time).
The invitational scouting showcase, mirrored after the annual NFL Combine staged in the United States, is designed to discover and evaluate potential NFL talent from around the globe.
Up to 50 athletes will be selected to participate in a series of tests in front of NFL evaluators. Leota is one of two Kiwis who have been invited to showcase their talents at the event, alongside Shawn Tuione.
The combine sees players evaluated for a potential position in the NFL's International Player Pathway programme, which aims to provide elite international athletes with the opportunity to compete at the NFL level, improve their skills, and ultimately earn a spot on an NFL roster.
The international showcase has uncovered plenty of NFL talent – with Australian offensive tackle Jordan Mailata perhaps the top talent, with the 24-year-old having recently re-signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on a four-year, $92 million contract.
"He's shone the light for us boys in New Zealand and Australia," Leota says of Mailata's success. "He's made it happen big time. Obviously his name is running through the media right now and it's a good light for us, good motivation and we're going to follow his footsteps.
"I'm not on that side where I'm expecting anything. I've just got to go out there and do my thing. I know there's a lot of pressure and this is my first time experiencing this. It's exciting, but I've just got to keep my head down, my eyes up and just do my thing."
