The Clinic: A Series on the Endicott Gulls Defence - DL Skills and Drills

Jason Scott has just completed his first season as the Defensive Line coach for the Endicott College Gulls, during which the Blue and Green finished 10-1 and won the program's first ECAC Bowl. The Gulls had the best rushing defense in the conference, and 10th best in the nation, surrendering - on average - only 87 rushing yards per game. They were also the the only team in the NEFC who kept opposition offenses to under 1000 total yards for the season.

Before heading to Massachussetts, Coach Scott was the Head Coach of the Loughborough University Aces, who he led to a 46-6-1 regular season record over his six years in charge. Those seasons also included three conference titles, and four divisional championships.

He also was instrumental in the rise of the Tamworth Phoenix, as he masterminded their defense for four years - from their inaugral season in 2007 to their 2010 Division 1 championship. Over the course of their first three seasons in the league, he helped coordinate a stifling defense which was responsible for over 50 turnovers, and shut-out offenses in 14 of their 39 fixtures.

Scott was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire. He studied for a year in Canada, before moving onto Loughborough University where he attained a degree in Sports and Exercise Science and a masters in Coaching Studies.

GB Lions Jnr Trial Report

On a freezing cold day in Hertfordshire, 70+  players vying for a spot on the GB Lions Junior roster gathered at the de Havilland campus, home of the BUAFL Hertfordshire Hurricanes, to take part in the latest trials.

Under the watchful gaze of head coach Damien Anderson and his staff, players from around the country were put through their paces with representatives from the Cambridge Cats, London Warriors, London Blitz, Farnham Knights, London Renegades, Bristol Aztecs, Hertfordshire Hurricanes and more making an appearance.

BUAFL Rivalry Week!

This week the stars at BUAFL HQ have aligned in the sky's of the schedule gods and given us a plethora of rivalry games to cover this weekend. To pick but a few:

Borders

Edinburgh Predators @ EN Knights

Glasgow Tigers @ UWS Pyros

Sunderland Spartans @ Newcastle Raiders

Northern

Leeds Carnegie @ Leeds Celtics

MMU Eagles @ Manchester Tyrants

Sheffield Sabres @ Hallam Warriors

MAC

NTU Renegades @ Nottingham Outlaws

Leicester Longhorns @ DMU Falcons

Worcester Royals @ Gloucester Gladiators (Sat 4th)

SWAC

Bath Spa Bulldogs @ Bath Killer Bees

Exeter Demons @ Plymouth Blitz

SEC

Canterbury Chargers @ Kent Falcons 

Anglia Ruskin Phantoms @ Essex Blades

KCL Regents @ Westminster Dragons

TVC

Reading Knights @ BNU Buccaneers

Portsmouth Destroyers @ Solent Redhawks

We will be trying to do more in depth coverage of these games to bring the rivalry alive, so if you are a rep of this team please email us with your teams contact details so we can hype your game up! dblcoverage@hotmail.co.uk

BUAFL Week Seven Power Rankings - Ranks 1-15

Part two of our rankings sees the return of the BUAFL powerhouse's, a tie in the top 5 and slide for a team who many predicted to win! To remind you, this is how the rankings washed out last time.

1. Hertfordshire Hurricanes (5-0)

The number one team in our power rankings at the end of 2011 start 2012 still atop the leader board. No game for the ‘Canes this week as they kick start their campaign in two weeks’ time in a top 10 matchup against the Kent Falcons, which if they win they will surely cement their place as number 1!

2. Birmingham Lions (5-0)

The only team in the top six who were supposed to have a game this week, unfortunately for all those involved with the Lions, Lincoln ended up forfeiting the game due to injuries. With no game this week Birmingham had plenty of time to train before their game against Derby on the 12^th of February. They will obviously be buoyed by an early victory in our Facebook page picture competition!

BUAFL Week Seven Power Rankings - Ranks 16-25

WE’RE BACK! Today see’s the return of the Double Coverage Top 25 Power Rankings! It’s been a while and I’m sure you’ve missed us.

Today we kick start the top 25 with the teams we’ve ranked 16-25. This week saw a lot of teams in the rankings not playing, but there are still some movers and shakers to keep things interesting.

Quick note – Leeds Carnegie drop out of the rankings and the Outlaws are just on the outside looking in (a win next week opens the door to an appearance in our top 25! No pressure!)

16. Glasgow Tigers (3-1)

The first team up is a non mover from last year. This week the Tigers we’re hopefully practicing for next week’s rivalry game against UWS Pyros instead of resting on their laurels. With the Pyros winning this week, we are going to give the Tigers an official upset warning, but we expect Glasgow to win and keep hold of their spot in our power rankings.

Cheap Kit on the Horizon for the BUAFL and BAFANL?

From IFAF.com

The International Federation of American Football today launched the IFAF Equipment Program to benefit its 62 member federations and further the international growth of the sport.

The initiative aims to increase the number of participants worldwide by eliminating the greatest barriers to entry - the accessibility and affordability of playing equipment.

BUAFL Week 7 Fixtures/Scores/Results

BNU Buccaneers 20 @ 31 Kingston Cougars

Border

UWS Pyros 28 @ 20 Sunderland Spartans

EN Knights P @ P Edinburgh Predators

Newcastle Raiders 26 @ 6 Teesside Cougars

MAC

MMU Eagles 8 @ 14 Staffordshire Stallions

Birmingham Lions F @ F Lincoln Colonials
(game awarded to Birmingham)

Warwick Wolves 12 @ 51 Leicester Longhorns FT

DMU Falcons 0 @ 23 Nottingham Outlaws

SWAC

Tarannau 0 @ 41 Bristol Barracuda FT

Plymouth Blitz 30 @ 0 Bath Spa Bulldogs

Cardiff Cobras 26 @ 27 Exeter Demons

UWE Bullets 6 @ 0 Swansea Titans

TVC

RHUL Bears 0 @ 31 Solent Redhawks FT

SEC

SEC: Brighton Tsunami 35 @ 0 Westminster Dragons

Dbl Coverage Interviews: Russ Hewitt - Current BUAFL Championship HC and head of BAFCA

We sat down with the current Head Coach of the BUAFL champion Portsmouth Destroyers Russ Hewitt to talk about his coaching philosophy, how he feels about the multi tier debate and if his Destroyers compare with the other team he coaches with, the London Warriors.

DBL: How is this season shaping up compared to last year?

The University season, is so much fun... you have to be so organised, to not waste a second of Practice time. I have to say my staff, put so much time in over the summer, to ensure we are efficient come August.

The difference in this year and the past years is based around the history of the Programme!

It’s been well publicised that we went from zero to National Champs in 5 years, so last year motivation was based around what we call ‘Football Nightmares’

The Hurt of losses, or injury, or simply under achieving.... just one growing pain after another ... anyone of those ‘Football Nightmares’ would give you a desire to put in extra work, to correct the wrongs!

Our last regular season losses was a heart breaking 3-0 loss to Solent Uni  (Away in Dec 2009) which turned out to be conference decider. Then our last home loss was also 3-0 the previous season (to Brighton – Jan 2009). That result dropped us to 4-3 after a 4-1 start... and technically closed the Playoff door, in our third season.

This year, we have a different breed of Athlete than previous recruitment classes... still the same raw rookies every other team gets, but individuals that really want to represent the University and continue the work we have put in, to become a Champion.

         

BUAFL Week 7 Predictions

Football is well and truly back!

After last weekends (slightly uninspiring domination) game we are back to a slightly fuller schedule.

Our Facebook page has really picked up in popularity in the last few days and we have really been pushing more content through there. If you're not following us, you're missing out!


Border

UWS Pyros @ Sunderland Spartans
The .500 Spartans take on the UWS Pyros, who can't seem to buy a win. The Pyros really need to improve if they aren't going to be the divisions whipping boys again.

Sunderland will be looking up in hope that one of the big four sitting in the play-off spots slips up to give them a shot at the post season.
Sunderland to win by four scores

EN Knights @ Edinburgh Predators
A big rivalry game in the second city of Scotland which has the added importance of deciding the direction of each teams seasons. Win and there is still hope of the play-off's, lose and you are playing for glory.

The Knights have already had to face Glasgow and Stirling and been found wanting, while the Preds have failed to capitalise on the early shock win over Glasgow.
Preds to win by a score

BUAFL As it stands: Championship Playoffs Final

After the dramatic semi-finals that saw Birmingham and Hallam advance to the championship final we now find ourselves at the grand finale of the BUAFL season.

Birmingham Lions vs. Hallam Warriors – John Charles Stadium, Leeds

The Hallam offensive huddle.

Photo courtesy of shuwarriors.net 

Following an extra week to rest before the big game, Birmingham and Hallam found themselves walking out to an impressive sized crowd for the climax of the 2011-12 BUAFL season. After the national anthem and the coin toss it was Hallam who started with the ball after the Lions deferred the toss until the second half.

Dbl Coverage Announcement: NFL Digest

In the first three months of our short existence, we at Double Coverage have been working hard to bring you the latest and greatest news on American football in the UK and US. Recently though we have been a little neglectful of the US part of this pledge, as we have been focused on improving our UK coverage.

It is with this in mind that we are pleased to announce a partnership with NFL digest, a UK based blog focused entirely on the NFL.

NFL DIGEST

NFL Digest is run by Nathan Sharrocks, a Journalism graduate from Central Lancashire and does work with the Lancashire Academy of American football. He also worked on Inside American Football with Gary Neesam, so has previous experience of writing about the British game as well.

He and his team have been going for a while now and we were so impressed with the quality of the work on the site that we asked to form a partnership with the site.

This means that both sites writers will work together to produce content for both sites, but don't worry, the amount and quality of the work won't drop on either site! NFL Digest will be working under Dbl Coverages Facebook page and will post regular updates linking you to their content, so be sure to like the newly branded page!

We will start with a two week trial period to see if the structure we have arranged will hold in the cold hard light of day, but we have every confidence that we will be working with Nathan and the NFL Digest team for a long time!

In the meanwhile NFL Digest will be using our Facebook page to keep you up to date with their awesome content and articles.

The Clinic: Effective Coaching

Todays article is written by GB Lions Sneior Head Coach Mike Callan and based on the presentation he gave at the North West Coaching clinic:

I have been coaching for what in the game probably wouldn’t consider a long time.  I have been doing it for only just over a decade.  There are quite a few aspects of coaching that get me excited, but none so much as going to or speaking at Clinics.  There is just something exciting about going to talk about football for a day with other coaches and the likely possibility that you will come away a better football coach that is exciting.

For the last three years I have been lucky enough to be asked to speak at the BAFCA NW Clinic that is run by a good friend of mine, Simon Purcell.  And I have to say, it is one weekend on the calendar that I truly look forward to.  The previous years I have talked about scheme on Offense, Defence and Special Teams.  I have gone over fundamentals with defensive backs and special teams players.  These are the bread and butter of football coaches.

Photo courtesy of Graham Beardsley

However, this year, Simon threw me a bit of a curveball.  He wanted me to speak on how to be an effective coach.  It took me a bit out of my comfort zone, I will not lie, because I think to myself that there are so many coaches out there who I have learned from and I aspire to.  I wondered if I was of calibre to be delivering this type of talk.  I decided that I was going to deliver it, but at the same time speak on how to be ‘more’ effective as a coach.  As coaches we can always do something better each time we step on the field and that is what I hope to get across in this piece.  These are just a few guidelines and there are probably hundreds more out there to be debated, but in the interest of time and space, I believed these were important to touch on.

Top 5 NFL teams that we want to see in the International Series

With the recent news that next year’s NFL international series will feature the St Louis Rams and the New England Patriots and that the Rams will feature in the international series during 2013 and 2014, we decided to dedicate this week’s top five on the top five NFL teams we would like to see play over here in Britain.

Note: Teams who have already played in the UK will not be included on the list.

As per usual we mention the teams that just missed the cut.

Atlanta Falcons – Atlanta are the new Indianapolis Colts (win in the regular season, choke in the playoffs). The Falcons surprisingly have a big fan base in the UK so would draw interest from fans involved in Britball. If the NFL does eventually send the Falcons over to play in the international series then they might as well play the Carolina Panthers, which would mean all of the NFC South have visited London (ED: I doubt the NFL or the teams would want to lose a divisional rivalry game though).

Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers have a huge fan base in the UK, so it makes sense for Pittsburgh to come over and play in the UK! Fortunately for the Steelernation fans in the UK, Dan Rooney is the US Ambassador to Ireland and said there’s a possibility that Pittsburgh could play in Ireland, so who knows!?

A Question of Timing

Is it better to be emotional on the sidelines, or the strong silent type? Last night showed the positives of the latter.

Towards the end of the Ravens @ Patriots game the cameras showed a passionate John Harbaugh pushing one of his coaches out of the way to call a time-out that the Ravens could ill afford to waste, at a guess because he didn't like the play call. This disarray on the sidelines would prove to be a harbinger of what was to come.

With only a few minutes left on the clock Ravens offensive coordinator had called his best drive of the season, picking on wide receiver turned defensive back Julian Edelman with Anquan Boldin in the slot (Edelman was responsible for a blown coverage that sprung Boldin down the sideline), but the drive started to stall inside the Patriots red zone and the Ravens unravelled when their goal within their reach.

The first marginally questionable Ravens call came on 2nd and 3 just inside the 15. The Ravens called a pass play that almost came off with receiver Lee Evans having the ball knocked out of his hands by former Raiders practice squad player Sterling Moore. If they had run for the first down (a high percentage play with the Patriots more likely to give up the first down instead of the score) and called a time out they would have had time for a couple of shots with 20 seconds on the clock and even the possibility of spiking the ball if a player came up short.

BUAFL Predictions

The only game in BUAFL this weekend sees Lincoln Colonials (2-1) visit Nottingham Trent Renegades. With the Navy and Pink at 2-2 following the opening day loss to Birmingham and a last-gasp heartbreaker against Derby, they will be all to aware that a slip against Lincoln effectively ends their post season hopes.

They will also be well aware that their remaining schedule holds bigger battles that this - particularly with a potentially crucial Superbowl Sunday clash with inter-city rivals Nottingham - but will still rely on full-back Danny Miller to do the legwork on offence as they bid to keep their season alive. Defensively, their strength lies in the backfield, with veteran safety Chris O'Dea marshalling a defence that includes one of the fastest defensive backs in the league in Marcus Boswell.

With the Colonials only serious offensive threat coming in the form of playmaking wide receiver Alex Preece, the battle between him and Boswell will be intriguing.

Lincoln, meanwhile, sit somewhat surprisingly with a winning record, but - while they have improved this season to beat Leicester and MAC whipping boys Worcester - they are not yet of the level required to seriously test NTU. If they can get the ball into the hands of Preece, then there is every chance they can notch up a couple of scores, but even with one eye on Varsity, the Renegades should have enough for a comfortable win.

Renegades by four scores.


Check out all our BUAFL articles

NFLUK: Announcement about the International Series 2012 due tomorrow!

In an email received today:

-------------------------------------------------

As we head into the final few weeks of the 2011 NFL season I want to thank you, the fans, for making this a very memorable campaign.

While the action in the United States has been full of twists and turns, drama and record-setting levels of play, we have also enjoyed significant growth and created headlines of our own in the United Kingdom. These included:

• Ratings for Sky Sports’ coverage of the NFL increased by 30% year on year

• Red Zone was added to Sky Sports’ coverage and was very popular among our fans.

• Our fifth International Series game was held at Wembley Stadium as the Chicago Bears recorded a 24-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Our fan feedback ratings suggest this was the best-received of our games to date

• Events surrounding that game increased and included the Fan Forum with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the Fan Rally, the Friday Night Lights screening in Trafalgar Square, the UK Talent Camp, Tailgate and the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for American Football. Those fantastic events featured legends such as Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Jerome Bettis and Brad Johnson and meant there were more ways to enjoy the International Series game and more excitement than ever before

• Television viewing figures rose across all our broadcast partners as more than 6.53 million watched NFL games during the 2011 regular season – an increase of 18% on 2010

The biggest news with regard to the long-term future of the NFL in the United Kingdom came in October when the NFL owners voted to extend the International Series of games played in this country for a further five years.

We are scheduled to make an announcement tomorrow regarding the International Series in 2012 so keep an eye on nfluk.com for that exciting news.

Each year we conduct extensive research with thousands of fans who come to our game and we listen to your feedback. We are trying to incorporate as much of that as possible into our activities in 2012.

The Registry of Interest (ROI) will not take place this year. Having listened to fan feedback after last year’s game we are going to have a trial year without this extra step and will evaluate the success of the new system.Our NFLUK.com database members and forum visitors will still be the first ones to get all the information about ticketing. This will include details of general admission ticket sales, which will be announced in the run-up to Super Bowl XLVI.

So watch this space and keep checking NFLUK.com for news on the International Series in 2012.

I would like to end by thanking each of you for your continued support of the NFL.

Enjoy the remainder of this season’s playoffs on Sky Sports and the BBC!

Alistair Kirkwood.

BUAFL Top Five: Bowl Games

After suggesting that the league should consider having bowl games next season instead of Championship and Plate Trophy playoffs, we have decided to dedicate this week’s top 5 to the top 5 bowl games we would like to see.

So onto the list!

Here are a few ideas for bowl games that came up, but alas they didn't make the final cut:

Hertfordshire Hurricanes vs Brighton Tsunami in the Natural Disaster, bowl sponsored by FEMA


Nottingham Outlaws vs UEA Pirates in the Law Abiding Citizen bowl, sponsored by Dog the Bounty Hunter


Cardiff Cobras vs Cambridge Python in the "I hate snakes" bowl, sponsored by Indiana Jones


Durham Saints vs Exeter Demons in the Good versus Evil bowl, sponsored by Microsoft and Apple

The Clinic: Choice/Naked Concept from the Gun

The second in our new Clinic articles features our first guest writer, with Coach Rich Worsell from the University of La Verne talking to us about his Choice-Naked concept.

Coach Worsell, making the Choice not to be Naked...

Rich Worsell has just completed his first season at the University of La Verne, serving as Offensive Coordinator for the Leopards. The Leos finished tied for the 3rd in the SCIAC and had three different All Conference players and one national player of the week in his first year directing the offense. 

Prior to his arrival, Worsell spent three seasons as Offensive Coordinator at Illinois College.  During his first season at Illinois College, the Blueboy squad set 14 school records and five Midwest Conference Records.

He previously spent three seasons as the pass game coordinator at Millikin University and during the three years he produced three different All Conference receivers.  

Prior to coaching at Millikin, Worsell spent two years at Lakeland College in Wisconsin. During this time Lakeland won a share of the IBFC Championship and was ranked #8 nationally in scoring Offense (2003) scoring 40.1 points per game.

Born and raised in England, Worsell is a 2003 graduate of Aberystwyth University during which time he served as the Head Coach for three years, in addition to serving as the Great Britain Bulldogs Offensive Line coach. In 2003 he was the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Sussex Thunder.

Quick Passing Game made easy – The 3 step boot game

Introduction

In writing this article I wanted to put together something that has been proven at multiple levels of football. The 3 step boot game currently has been a staple of offenses I have been a part of since 2003 and has spread through the ranks in the US. I learnt the play from Jim Zebrowski when we coached together at Lakeland College (Zebrowski is currently the Quarterback coach at Minnesota).

Choice Naked from 3x1 in the gun

The basic concept of the play is to have two pass plays in one. Lining up in a 3x1 formation with a tight end to the three receiver side you have the single receiver run a choice route into the boundary. The QB (positioned in the gun) catches the snap, sets his feet to throw the boundary pass, if he doesn’t like it then nakeds out of the pocket to the field with another route concept going on.

The pass protection scheme is simple as the offensive line slides to the boundary, with each man blocking the gap to the side, the running back aligns to the field, on the snap of the ball he steps for the width and pins the outside shoulder of the defensive end.

The reason for it being a great play for most offenses is that you can isolate your best receiver and give him great freedom. It was a big part of our passing game when at Illinois College and we were a top ten passing team in the nation. 

BUAFL Breakdown: The SWAC

There are two old power houses reasserting themselves over the fast improving relatively new boys in the SWAC, but it is always competitive. Expect an 8-0 team this year that team should do better in the play offs with their stronger record.

UWE Bullets

UWE lost some key starters from last year, but unlike their neighbours in Bristol appear to have not missed a beat. The defence in particular looks very good, with the usual tricky offense being good enough (and getting better) to beat most teams. 

Their only challenge in the second half will come from Exeter (maybe) and Cardiff. That last game of the season will most likely decide the Conf. title and who will go undefeated. The Bullets are well equipped to cause teams real problems in the play offs and Head Coach Matt Dyke will be planning a clean sweep to the playoffs.

Cardiff Cobras

The Cobras are in the middle of a record breaking run of 12 victories stretching back to 4^th Dec 2010. They started slowly last year but got better and better as the year went on. In that run they have now beaten every other team in the conference.

It was a particularly young team last year and that means nearly everybody returned this year so new HC Simon Browning, who also added depth and experience to the coaching team, will be looking to go further this year with a play off place and wins. 

The best way to do that is to win the conference which will require a second win in a row over the Bullets (the Cobras spoilt their undefeated season last year) in what looks like being the game of the season at the end of Feb. There are tests before then, first game back after the break in Exeter will test the team but with arguably the best QB in the conference in Tom Williams the Cobras have the talent to go undefeated into the play offs in their 25^th anniversary year.

Exclusive Interview with Birmingham Lions HC Wayne Hill

In our latest interview we speak with Birmingham Lions head Coach, GB Lions defensive coordinator and IFAF World team Linebacker Coach (I think I got all the titles in) Wayne Hill. We cover everything from the new coaching staff at the Lions to his notorious decision to go for two at the end of the BUAFL Championship game (a decision that ultimately cost them the game). Read on!

DC: First off congratulations on a fantastic year coaching wise. You were named head coach of the Birmingham Lions, OC of the Birmingham Bulls, LB coach for the IFAF world development team and now DC of GB lions. Which one personally means the most to you?

WH – Obviously all are very special and I am very lucky to have been selected to the National Programme and IFAF World Development Team. I have to say being back in charge at the Lions is a little extra special to me. This enables me to work with some amazing coaches and players on a daily basis, that really push me to develop myself and my coaching. However, all of the positions have something special to me; the Bulls role was great as that was where I grew up and developed a love for this sport. So it was great to contribute to a really successful season and be part of a great development programme being put in place by Steve Hannington and Brendan Cunnane.

The National Programme role is going to be a challenge and I love a challenge! I am excited to be part of the new set up and even in the early stages I am enjoying working with Coach Callan and putting together a great defensive staff.

Now the IFAF World Development Team role is awesome and I am looking forward to working with some of the best coaches and players in the world. This has been a great learning curve for me and now the selection process is complete I am looking forward to meeting the players face to face and getting on with the on field coaching.

BUAFL As it Stands: Challenge Cup

We are starting to get towards the business end of largely praised, but often criticised faux Challenge Cup Playoffs series and this weeks games sees two loooong journeys by the southern conference teams to take on their northern counterparts. Check out last weeks article to see how the teams got to where they are now and like us on facebook to stay up to date with the latest news on BUAFL and Britball first!

As both our games take place in the North and it's that time of the year, the weather played a major factor in each! Read on to find out who makes the final!

OBU Panthers @ Bradford Bears
The first of the mammoth journeys saw Oxford Brookes travel 180 miles north to BUAFL new boys Bradford to play in the standard awful northern weather. Bradford have relied on play maker Chris Peel on both sides of the ball, but he has been ably backed up by a strong supporting cast. OBU have shared the load evenly between a plethora of talented players that have shocked the TVC so far this season.


This disparity in talent would prove to be the major difference in what was a game dominated by defence. There was very little scoring by either team in the first half with only a field goal from OBU. Chris Peel, Steven Zurheid and Tom Davies were domianting the OBU offensive front making numerous stops on 3rd and long while James Mcgubbin and Freddie Page put the OBU Panthers on their back, preventing the Bradford offence from even leaving their half with some huge hits big plays behind the line of scrimmage.

GB Doncaster Trial report

The first trials of a new era for the GB Lions began in Doncaster over weekend with over 130 players turning up to try and impress the new coaching staff.

Players representing many different teams turned up to the trials with teams such as Premier league new boys EKP Pirates and Leicester Falcons having several players in attendance. BUAFL programs such as the Derby Braves and Birmingham Lions were also amoung the myriad of uniforms and helmets on display throughout the day.

The trials were well attended

GB Lions Filton Trials

Some details of the forthcoming GB Lions trials at Filton Academy:

If you’re planning on attending the forthcoming GB Lions Adult Try Out event at Filton College Bristol (http://www.filton.ac.uk/) on Saturday 4 February, here’s some useful additional information.

Timings
Registration 11.30am, then on the field 12.30pm – 6.30pm. Please turn up early even if you've pre-registered

Cost
£20 on the day

Plan for the day
As with the last try out, the first session will be physical measurables and then the second session positional/contact drills so bring your full football kit

Registration
To register for any of these events please complete a registration form, and email it to nick_wasmuth@hotmail.com. Pre-registration is highly recommended to avoid being late on the day.  The registration form for the try-outs can be found on the downloads section of the BAFA site, here: http://www.bafa.org.uk/downloads.aspx

Please bring...
- Full football kit
- Footwear for suitable 3G Astroturf - so no metal bladed footware
- Offensive players should bring a white jersey, defensive players should bring a dark blue jersey and QB trialists should bring red jerseys.

London 2012: Funds for school-site sports clubs

American Football teams are set to receive fresh incentives to work with local schools under a new government scheme aimed at getting youngsters to continue their sporting development post-16.

A third less people play sport after they conclude compulsory education than before it, and Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has now announced a £1bn strategy in order to combat a growing issue.

The funding will be used to ensure that every secondary school in England has a "community sports club", and BAFA are set to encourage their member clubs to volunteer and join the scheme.

Under the five-year youth and community sport strategy, Sport England will help set up clubs where expert coaches will run sessions to create ties between schools and existing local sports clubs.

Over 2,000 soccer clubs have pledged to participate, along with 2,300 clubs from both codes of rugby and 1,250 cricket clubs.

Jeremy Hunt wants to get more sports into schools

As it Stands: Championship Playoffs Semi Finals

After last week’s divisional round which a fair bit of controversy with our viewers, we now find ourselves at the semi finals of the Championship Playoffs.

UWE Bullets  @ Hallam Warriors 

The Hallam defence were once again in dominating form (here shown against Leeds Celtics)

Photo Courtesy of gallowayphotography.co.uk

In the semi final that no one predicted to happen we find the UWE Bullets making the 173 mile journey (one way!!!) from Bristol to Sheffield to take on the Hallam Warriors.

Despite the long journey up north the Bullets showed no signs of fatigue in the first quarter as they managed to keep the Warriors double wing in check on the Warriors first two drives. Despite gaining good yardage Hallam were unable to find their way into the endzone. A Chris Webber pass was knocked down on 4^th and 7 on the UWE thirteen and that was the closest the Warriors came to scoring in the first quarter.

Fortunately for the Hallam offence their teammates on the other side of the ball were more than up to the task of keeping the Bullets offence, once again led by rookie QB J.J. Davies, at bay and forcing two three and outs on the first three UWE series alone.

Both teams’ fortunes changed in the second quarter as Hallam FB Richard Griffiths managed to muscle his way into the endzone from two yards out to give the Warriors an 8-0 lead after the successful two point conversion. Hallam were the next team to score again after a good punt return set up a twenty three yard rushing touchdown for MVP favourite Danny Pyle ,but the Warriors failed on the two point attempt.

BUAFL 2012/2013 Possible Playoff Permutations

Since the news of the new re-alignment has been released we at Dbl Coverage have the time trying to work out how next year’s playoffs will work with seven conferences. First off, what does Jim Mora think of the situation?

Currently the top two teams in each conference make it through to the championship playoffs and the next two teams make it into the Challenge Cup playoffs. This means we have twelve teams in the post season with the top four teams (two north and two south) earning first round byes, leaving four teams to take part in Wild Card weekend.

Bear with us while we try and explain our two theories:

Sticking with the top two teams qualifying for the playoffs from the seven conferences means we will have fourteen teams in the post season. Therefore if the top two teams (1 north and 1 south) earn a first round bye we are left over with twelve teams. Six games in wildcard weekend will produce six winners advancing onto the next round where they will join the two teams who were on a bye. With eight teams now back in the playoffs we have reached the quarter finals and the playoff will continue as usual.

BUAFL Conference re alignment analysis

It has to be said that the announcement of a divisional re-alignment for 2012/13 has taken us a little by surprise.  Although there had been rumours of changes to the format, for them to be released at this stage of the season seems to be an odd move.

With several new teams still in the process of completing the associate process, there is still no certainty as to how many teams will be in BUAFL in 2012/13, and fans of a possible two-tier system will be disappointed that the idea doesn't appear to have been considered.

A handful of teams switch between the SEC and the Thames Valley Conference, but the main changes come in the north, where a whole new conference - the Saltire - has been created specifically for Scottish teams (including any associates from north of the border), while the current Borders conference teams from England move into an as yet unnamed North Eastern Conference.  They will be joined by both Leeds teams, Hull, York and Bradford, who are to be split from varsity rivals Huddersfield after just one season.

BUAFL Top five: Stories to watch in the second half of the season

With the second half of the season kicking off in just over two week’s time, we focus this week’s top five on the storylines to keep an eye on as we head towards the playoffs.

As per usual we mention the storylines that didn’t make the cut.

All they do is...lose? Steelers fans look away now, it's Tebow week!

 A lot of teams would like to be associated with that song, but it’s about time someone released a song for the teams doing their best to get the two tier system in BUAFL. So far there are thirteen! Yes thirteen teams who have yet to win a game this season. Will these teams continue to embarrass themselves in the second half of the season or will they finally manage to save face and earn some respect by winning their first game of the season? At least if they keep losing BUAFL may finally move to a two tier system...

BUAFL representing?

 This Saturday see’s the Northern GB trials with the Southern trials on the fourth of February. With so many BUAFL players now playing junior and senior ball will BUAFL be well represented in team GB? If BUAFL is well represented will the players be mainly from the big Universities due to the teams’ reputation and players on poor University teams miss out? Either way we would like to wish good luck to all individuals attending the trials!

BUAFL Conference alignments 2012/2013 season

The League has announced (via Facebook)  the provisional Conference alignments for 2012/13 to teams. These did not include expansion teams who will be factored in at a later date:

The Clinic: Double Wing Offence

Well done to those of you that haven't closed the blog after seeing the subject of this article! There are many formations to choose from when looking to install a playbook, but none are so polarising as the Double Wing we are now seeing spread across the BUAFL.


One of the assumptions when facing a Double Wing team is that they don't know anything about football. The majority of teams we that write Double Wing teams off as bad football teams tend to get a bit of a surprise and those who respect the formation are those who are successful against it.


Why choose the Double Wing?
The Double Wing is a simple system in comparison to the plays you see on Saturdays and Sundays in the NFL and College ball. It is widely used in youth and high school football in the US due to this simplicity. It is good for players with little football experience to learn the game and get involved early and Double Wing teams often have rookies participating in the walk through after only 1 session of football.


It also teaches good blocking fundamentals, as the line will learn to execute head up drive blocking, double teams, chip blocking, pulling, trapping and cutting all as part of the blocking system. The RBs learn shifting and motioning pre snap, as well as running in traffic and reading their blockers.

BUAFL As it Stands: Challenge Cup

Moving on from yesterdays Championship bracket we bring you the little brother of the main cup competition, the Challenge Cup (which really, is a plate...). Last week saw the Glasgow Tigers, Bradford Bears, Plymouth Blitz and UEA Pirates move on to the next round. Now we take a light hearted look at how we think the games would play out.

NORTH

Glasgow Tigers @ Hull Sharks
Following on from their victory last week against the Lincoln Colonials the Glasgow Tigers hit the road for the 5 hour journey to last years Challenge Cup runners up, the University of Hull Sharks.

The Sharks, coming off their bye week, were slow to start on offence and defence and gave up an early score after a blocked punt was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Glasgow attempted to take advantage of the oppositions lethargy in the next drive as they went for the long bomb on their first play, but FS Alex Di Guiseppe picked the ball just inside the sideline.

The Tigers started to build some pressure pinning Glasgow inside their own red zone and the pressure finally told when a fumble was recovered by Defensive Lineman Aleks Phelps. Going for the touchdown on the very next play paid off for Hull as Sebastian Gogerly passed to Benjamin Walker in the back of the end zone. The half ended with the scores level at 7 apiece.

The Sharks had obviously had an inspiring half time speech as they came out of the blocks quickly to start the second half with hard running from Will Hobbs resulting in a long touchdown run to start the 3rd quarter. Sensing blood in the water, the Sharks starting taking advantage of the poor pass coverage from Glasgow as Gogerly passed for another touchdown to WR Michael Cash.

The 4th Quarter fell foul of a typical Hull downpour and both teams struggled to put together drives due to the poor weather and the game ended with no further scores. Hull go on to the next round with a 27-7 win.

BUAFL Breakdown: The MAC (part 2)

Yesterday we took a look at the top half of the table and today we have the less fortunate teams that have to prop up the rest.

Nottingham Trent Renegades

With one of the best defences in the MAC NTU are considered one of the “BIG 4” in the MAC. NTU traditionally have a rivalry with the Derby Braves due to the short distance between the two cities and there is a ferociousness between the two teams when they meet, usually because they are fighting for a seed in the Challenge cup playoffs.

NTU’s offense is based around a run heavy offense lead by Danny Miller, a Colligate freshman out of Marist College and a high school All-American who has scored all of their points. NTU will hope to compete in the plate but will most likely be replaced by the controversial Northampton Nemesis.

Warwick Wolves

One of the teams that make up the "lower middle" of the MAC, Warwick have the potential to pull of the occasional minor upset, but are still some way off reaching the level where opposition teams start to really fear them. 

An opening day battering by Loughborough was expected, but they fought back well to at least compete with NTU, before a five-touchdown win at a rookie DMU side that still have an awful lot to learn at this level.

Their post-Christmas schedule features some very winnable games against Leicester, Coventry and Staffordshire before they take on the enigma of Northampton and an inevitable thumping at the hands of Birmingham.  

If veteran running back Tino Charamba stays fit then they have the chance of 0.500 record, perhaps more if the wheels fall off at Northampton.

NFL Play of the Week: Tebow Time

Well, Tebow did it again...

His GM was calling on him during the week to be more aggressive and pull the trigger and on the first play of overtime he threw a perfect spiral that tore a hole in the Pittsburgh secondary. Was this divine intervention, or was this home field advantage really kicking in?

The Broncos came out in a double tight formation and motioned a receiver into the formation. During the game the Steelers had been keying this motion and rolling the safety down to counter the run play it often predicated. Ryan Mundy came charging down into the box to give the Steelers the numbers advantage.

The play action drags in all the linebackers leaving a huge area ehind them for Tebow to get the ball to Thomas. Originally the look given by the secondary was Cover 0 with no safeties high in the middle of the field (after Mundy rolled down into the box). However on the snap both corners take outside leverage on their recivers and start bailing to the hash. This is clearly not supposed to happen with no deep help in the middle of the field.

BUAFL Breakdown: The MAC

With so many teams in the MAC we decided to split it in half and release our breakdown over two days. Keep a look out on our Facebook page tomorrow for part deux.

Loughborough Aces

A by-product of the best sporting university in the UK it’s not hard to imagine that Loughborough University will be strong at American Football. Lead by powerhouse running back Adam Hope Loughborough run a triple option pistol offense that is effective against inexperienced defences. They are effective on the dive down the middle with a tall and wide offensive line making large running lanes for Adam Hope to run through. 

The offence sometimes struggles when the ball is put into QB Nick Jacquets hands. He has an unusual arm with a nice spiral, but tends to throw the ball very high in hope that his receivers will out jump DBs. 

The Aces defence are reknowned as one of the best defences in the country. Linebackers Anssi Saari from the Helsinki Wolverines in Finland and Jonathan Varney from Tamworth Phoenix are the core of it and thanks to their two big linebackers they have proved so far they are nearly impossible to run against, conceding no rushing touchdowns. 

During the game with Derby, Loughborough’s pass coverage was a little shaky and this may be the difference between them and the Birmingham Lions in the big battle which is yet to come.

Birmingham Lions

Tristan who?  If anyone thought that the Lions would be tamed by the loss of one of BUAFL's few truly stellar players, they have been firmly put in their place by Brum’s relentless scoring.

The bright lights and big occasion may have slightly slowed Varney's replacements Jonny Glover and Sope Dirisu in the XpLosION clash with NTU, but since then the Blue Crush (yes, I just made that nickname up) have swept aside their opponents like flotsam and jetsam, putting up a gaudy 207 points in their four games so far.

Only the two Nottingham sides have scored on the Lions, with poor old Coventry Jets not even mustering a first down against a simply dominant defence.  There are big names wherever you look on this Lions team – Conroy, Burrows, Brown (I really could go on all day) – and trust me, they haven’t got to that stage just on hype.

Having not had their supremacy challenged thus far, the 18th February clash with Loughborough will have the eyes of the BUAFL nation upon it, with the winner likely to take over as favourites to at least make the bowl game.

GB Lions: Doncaster Trial details released

Sat 14 January at Balby Carr College, Doncaster.

Timings
On the field 11am-5pm, 10am registration. Please turn up early even if you've pre-registered 

Cost
£20 on the day

Plan for the day
First session will be physical measurables, second session positional/contact drills so bring your full football kit

Registration
To register for any of these events email your full name/DOB/BAFANL number/club/position/contact number/emergency contact number (if under 18) to nick_wasmuth@hotmail.com. Pre-registration is highly recommended to avoid being late on the day. 

Please bring...
- Full football kit
- Footwear for suitable 3G Astroturf - so no metal bladed footware
- Offensive players should bring a white jersey, defensive players should bring a dark blue jersey and QB trialists should bring red jerseys.