NFL Academy Coaching Announcement Aims To Grow Sport In APAC

The NFL has announced, Heather Marini, a distinguished Division I U.S. college coach with Australian roots, as the positional coach and U.S. college liaison at the recently launched NFL Academy Asia-Pacific, located on the Gold Coast, with the aim to grow the sport across the country.

The NFL Academy represents a significant global initiative aimed at providing gifted student-athletes with the opportunity to pursue full-time education while receiving elite training in American football, all under the guidance of a top-tier coaching staff.

Marini’s coaching credentials are noteworthy; she devoted five seasons to Brown University’s football program as a quarterbacks coach from 2019 to 2024, having previously worked with the New York Jets as a scouting specialist.

Significantly, Marini made history as the first female positional coach in Division I, during her time at Brown, she was the sole female positional coach in the entire Division I landscape.

Beyond her coaching achievements, Marini has a rich history in the sport of American football, having played competitively in the Australian gridiron scene for a decade, she was also a member of the Boston Renegades in the Women’s Football Alliance, where she celebrated three National Championships.

Furthermore, Marini earned the honour of representing the Australian National Team at the 2022 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women’s World Championships held in Finland.

Marini’s connections to the NFL are substantial; she previously participated as a coaching intern with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship program.

She has also attended the NFL’s Women’s Forum three times and was part of the league’s Rookie Coaches Clinic in 2018.

Joining Marini at the NFL Academy APAC is Will Bryce, as the head of the academy, who brings expertise as a qualified physiotherapist and strength and conditioning specialist, having been instrumental in the launch of the NFL Academy’s inaugural U.K. location while leading the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program.

Officially opening its doors in September 2024 at A.B. Paterson College in south-east Queensland, the NFL Academy APAC caters to student-athletes aged 12 to 18 years.

Even in its inaugural year, the academy has garnered substantial interest from prestigious NCAA programs, with one student-athlete reportedly receiving a preliminary Division I offer from a significant SEC program.

In a collaborative effort, the NFL and A.B. Paterson College, with support from the City of Gold Coast and the Queensland State Government, will establish an elite high-performance facility on the college’s grounds, anticipated for completion in 2026.

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