The Lancashire Wolverines have had a fairly meteoric rise. Just over a
year ago the seniors were in Division 2 with a much smaller squad than the
current one, now they’re preparing for the big time in the Premiership.
And this rise is in no small part thanks to the Lancashire Academy of
American Football setup.
With a structure that includes players from as young as 7, the Academy
boasts teams across the county from the cadets all the way up to the seniors and the offseason has seen all the clubs progress further.
First, the Academy welcomed two university sides into the fold. The
Lancaster Bombers and the rookie UCLan Rams now sees the Lancashire Academy
playing football all year round.
Sam Bloomfield (#21), the UCLan Rams President and member of the Lancashire
Academy since his Chorley Buccaneers days, said of the inclusion, “When the academy reached out and offered us official affiliation, I was
quick to snap up the opportunity. With great support from the Academy we can
encourage players from our own team to get involved in Summer football, whilst
also encouraging the younger members of the Academy to get involved with
Universities and their football teams.”
And the Academy continues to improve.
David Gleave has been appointed as a strength
and conditioning coach, helping players to cope with the rigors of Premiership
life. Gleave’s qualifications include L2 Fitness Instructor and L3 Personal
Fitness and his experience as Sports Area Manager for Blackburn College should
come in great stead for the Academy.
Offseason workouts have already begun, with a few informal sessions
putting players through fundamentals before the official start of preseason
training.
But the Academy improves off the field too with 14 new coaches being
trained to level one at the recent BAFA coaching qualification sessions.
Senior Wolverines’ Head Coach, Daniel Bowles said, “the progress the
Academy has made the last few seasons has been nothing short of outstanding.
With more and more players and coaches eager to work out and learn the team can
only benefit on the field. I think everyone associated with the club is looking
forward to the challenges of the Premiership.”
But with the seniors improving the continuing feed from the juniors
improve too. The insanely successful Lancashire Wolverine Colts are coming off
the back of another National Final appearance and are currently recruiting.
Coach Geoff Leigh and his staff have been widely regarded as some of the best
in the UK after repeatedly leading the 16-18 year olds to success.
Indoor training sessions are being held on Sundays from 1pm-3pm at St. Joseph’s High School in Horwich, Bolton before Christmas before they head back to their native Blackburn after the holidays. Any prospective players or coaches are more than welcome to drop by.
Coach Leigh says, “we had a fantastic
season and rewarded with a national championship appearance. We had a very
young team last season so I'm looking forward to see what they can do with a
years experience under their belt.”
Perhaps most impressive about the Lancashire Academy is the
infrastructure at Youth level. With teams based in Chorley, Burnley, Standish
and Preston from the ages of 7-16, including flag and kitted disciplines, the
future of the Lancashire Academy is not only secure but bright.
They recently held the inaugural Rose Bowl, a tournament between their
youth kitted teams to celebrate the performances of the teams throughout the
year.
With the Burnley Tornados reaching the National Finals in the youth
kitted and the Chorley Buccaneers reaching the National Finals in the youth
kitted, youth flag and cadet flag disciplines (as well as being nominated for several local awards recently), it is plain to see that the
future is going to be special for the Lancashire Academy of American Football.
