ABOUT LEADER KICKING
Tadhg Leader founded Leader Kicking in 2022 to offer athletes life-changing opportunities through sports and education.
Key Milestones To Date
Scholarship Success
Ross Bolger and Ronan Patterson become the first of our athletes to receive scholarships to Division 1 colleges in the USA.
Mass Media Coverage
Featured in major outlets such as RTE, NY Times, Ireland AM, Irish Times, Sky Sports, and USA Today. A documentary was also commissioned to follow the journey.
NFL Academy Entry
Andy Quinn joins the NFL Academy
NFL IPP Coach
Tadhg Leader onboarded as an NFL International Player Pathway (IPP) coach.
NFL IPP Program Success
Mark Jackson, Charlie Smyth, Rory Beggan, and Darragh Leader enter the NFL IPP program.
NFL Signing
Charlie Smyth signs with the New Orleans Saints.
NFL Rookie Camps
Mark Jackson participates in the Pittsburgh Steelers Rookie Camp.
Rory Began joins the Carolina Panthers Rookie Camp.
European League of Football
Darragh Leader signs with the Tirol Raiders.
College Scholarships
Jack Scullion receives a scholarship to attend Rutgers University.
Sean O’Haire receives a scholarship to attend the University of Richmond.
Bruno Kincaid Ruiz was accepted into Missouri Valley Community College.
Paddy McAteer receives a scholarship to attend the Troy University.
About Tadhg Leader
EARLY LIFE
A native of Galway, Ireland, Leader has a unique background, having played professional rugby and American football. His passion for kicking began early, excelling in Gaelic Football, Soccer, and Rugby.
Selected for the Connacht Rugby professional pathway in his teens, he went on to play there for 7 years including being selected for Irish underage teams before a shoulder injury led him to pursue education in America, after a brief stint playing in Italy
THE USA
In the US, Leader completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees, played Major League Rugby, and represented the USA in international rugby. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he started kicking American footballs for fun, impressing NFL legend John Carney, who encouraged him to pursue it professionally.
At 28, Leader transitioned to American football, making his debut on national TV in the iconic Lucas Oil Stadium and signing with the European League of Football and the Canadian Football League, the world’s biggest league after the NFL.
LEADER KICKING STARTS
Despite his success, feedback about his lack of college-level experience proved to be a barrier as teams traditionally select players with college experience.
This led him to return to Ireland and create a pathway that didn’t exist for him, which helps players go to college, knowing it could positively impact young athletes’ lives with phenomenal opportunities and Leader Kicking was born!
