The YMCA Kitto Centre on Honicknowle Lane is the place to touch down on Sunday November 26th when Plymouth’s own American Football team, the Admirals, host their annual Rookie Camp.

Head Coach Steve Perry explains “American Football is such an exciting sport that you really need to try it for yourself to understand why we’re so passionate about it. The Rookie Camp will give people the chance to do this. We have put together a range of activities that are designed to be a fun introduction to the game, and that are suitable for anybody, regardless of their size or experience.”

Starting at 10am the Admirals youth side will be welcoming the next generation of players in the area. The 8-13 age group can get involved with non-contact ‘Flag Football’. Its simpler rules and minimal equipment make it an ideal introduction to the game for both boys and girls.

The full-contact kitted squad for ages 14-19 are looking to increase their numbers in preparation for several key fixtures in 2007. Youth Team Coach Gareth Hawcroft is aiming to build upon their first competitive game against Hereford Chargers in August.

At 12pm the session for the senior squad (18+) will begin. Offensive Lineman Chris Phillips, 18 from Crownhill, is one senior player who first tasted action at last year’s camp. “I wasn’t sure about American Football at first, but thought I’d give it a go when I heard about the event last November” Chris said. “I’m really glad I did, because after that I signed up for the season, had a fantastic time, and ended up winning Most Improved Player at the club awards night!”

All activities are free and only basic sports clothing is needed. More details can be found on www.plymouthadmirals.co.uk

Sunday 20th August was an historic date for the Plymouth Admirals Youth side.

Their away fixture against the Hereford Chargers was their first kitted match since the team reformed a few years ago. There has been plenty of training and some Flag Football matches in preparation, but none of the 20-strong squad who travelled to the game had played in any full-contact matches before this one.

There were many promising signs shown by Coach Gareth Hawcroft’s side. On Offence QB Joel Hatherley completed several passes for good gains, particularly to Tight End Dan Tapson. This was balanced by a strong running performance, notably by Offensive MVP Rob Fitchett. Although the Admirals threatened to score on several occasions, including a memorable 78yd drive in the 3rd quarter, the final breakthrough couldn’t be made and the scoreboard stayed at 0.

On Defence it was a similar story. There were some great plays against an experienced Chargers side, proven by the fact that at halftime they had only conceded one single touchdown. But after half time the inexperience began to show. Good Hereford Offence punished tiring Plymouth players, and together with scores conceded by the Offence the final score was a 58-0 loss.

Plans are now being made for a rematch, and this time it will be Plymouth who are the home side. Without the long journey, and with the lessons of the first game in mind, this should be a great battle.

The Plymouth Blitz are proud to announce Brian Smallworth as their new Head Coach. The Blitz welcome Coach Smallworth, who has over 40 years experience of playing and coaching American Football in numerous countries including UK, USA, France and Spain.

Coach Smallworth was the first British Coach to be inducted into the Minor League Hall of Fame, and was one of the first Britishcoaches to work at College level in America . All at the Blitz are very excited to be working with such a prestigious coach, and are looking forward to a lively freshers week, starting on 18th September.

The Plymouth Admirals rounded off their 2006 BAFL season against the Oxford Saints on Sunday 6th August. The Defense produced one of their best displays of the season scoring both touchdowns in a 40-12 loss to the Oxford side who would eventually qualify for the BritBowl Final.

Full reports can be found on www.plymouthadmirals.co.uk

The Plymouth Admirals continued their 2006 season with a 18-8 win at home to Reading Renegades, easing memories of a heavy loss to South Wales Warriors the previous week. Full details and match reports on the Plymouth Admirals website.

Saturday 20th May just about stayed dry for the Lord Mayor's Day Parade, and American Football and Cheerleading was there in full effect.

Following a float carefully prepared by the Dynamite Cheerleaders (Truck kindly provided by Palladium Builders Merchants) were members of the Dynamite and Blaze Cheerleaders, as well as Admirals, Admirals Youth and Blitz footballers.

The day got off to an excellent start as the Blaze cheerleaders were the first act on the Plymouth Sound Stage with their 'Pump It' routine, and they were followed by the Dynamite performing their 'Too Hot' act.
After that there was time for everyone to have a good look round the other floats before the Parade through the city, where around 1200 fliers were handed out to the public.

The recent Sports Bug taster session was a huge success, and the squad size has more than doubled as a result!
17 potential girls turned up to the specially arranged event at John Kitto Community College, with a majority of them taking part in the next Dynamite training session.

Head Coach Annelise Joy said "There has been great interest, and our new members are already showing very good abilities. The Sports Bug event has been one of our most successful events to date!"
For information about joining the Dynamite click on the CHEERLEADING tab.

Plymouth City Council’s Sports Bug week is all about sports clubs opening their doors to new people – and that’s exactly what the Dynamite Cheerleaders and the Admirals Youth footballers will be doing.

Both groups have got sessions at the YMCA Kitto Centre, Honicknowle Lane, Plymouth. These sessions are ideal for beginners and those wanting to try the sports for the first time.

Dynamite Cheerleaders   Thursday 25th May   6-8pm
Plymouth Admirals Youth  Saturday 27th May  12-3pm

Contact sam@americanfootballdevon.co.uk for details

There are 6 groups involved in AFD and 5 of them will be involved in Plymouth Lord Mayor’s Day Parade on Saturday 20th May. The theme of this year’s parade is SPORT, so it’s a great chance to boost the image of the game at a major event attended by spectators from all across Devon and Cornwall.

Leading the way will be a float put together by the Dynamite cheerleaders (Truck kindly provided by Palladium Builders Merchants).

Following immediately behind will be the Blaze cheerleaders. The 3 Plymouth football teams, the Admirals, Admirals Youth and Blitz will complete the procession.

The Parade starts at 2pm, so all participants must be on the Hoe before 1.30pm, BUT there is masses going on before the parade including:

11.00am  Cheerleader Demonstration
12.15pm  Start of float judging (Good Luck Dynamite!)

Much fun was had at last year’s event. More pictures can be seen in the Gallery section of the Plymouth Blitz website.

There was something very strange about the Plymouth Admirals game against Redditch Arrows on Sunday. Club Captain Mel German wasn’t playing.

A hand injury from the game against Reading the previous week meant Mel (#72 pictured) missed the first game of his senior career, and ended a phenomenal streak of not missing a game in 15 years – 143 straight games since coming up from the Plymouth youth team.

Mel still travelled up to the game in Redditch. He’s an example to any player of any team anywhere, and hopefully he’ll be recovered and back in action for the Admirals soon.

The Plymouth Admirals kicked off their 2006 season with a 20-0 win away to Reading Renegades followed by a 35-7 loss to Redditch Arrows. Full details and match reports on the Plymouth Admirals website.

Words and maybe even the photo by Hannah Worsfold.

This year for the Plymouth Blaze has been the most successful in club history. The Blaze has cheered at games for the university American Football team, the Plymouth Blitz, done displays at the College bowl, cheered for the Southern Allstars and have had 2 members of our team, our coach Dannie Lenzie and Amy Sharp be accepted to cheer for Great Britain on the GB Bulldog squad.

The Blaze also had success in competitions this year, after our first season in 2005 of being unplaced behind much more established squads. Throughout this years training sessions we were always striving to improve ourselves to keep pace with the rapid progress that continues in the world of British cheerleading.

At our most recent competition we competed against other university squads. A huge effort was put into training building up to this competition and were not expecting anything but a fun weekend of taking part, gaining experience and meeting new squads. But when the results for our category were announced, the Blaze was surprised to hear we were placed 2nd out of 9.

With every competition the Blaze were happy with any place we were given but were shocked when we were awarded the 2nd place trophy. All the hard work put into training really paid off and huge congratulations to the Blaze competition squad.

Plymouth youngsters taking part in American Football and Cheerleading were given a massive boost recently as they began to take delivery of new equipment funded by a successful grant application.

The award of over £5,400 was made by the Devon Community Foundation to Young American Footballers of Plymouth (YAFP), a group set up last year to address the needs of under-19s in the city.

“This grant means more young people in the city will be able to play more of these sports with more equipment and guided by more coaches” explains YAFP President Sam Holder-Mark. “It’s very simple, but very positive.”

“We’ve already taken delivery of twenty full player kits that will provide everything needed for participants aged 14 to 19.There are many more new pieces of equipment arriving in the near future, including items for the 8 to 13 age group who play a non-contact version of the sport called ‘Flag Football’.”

“Cheerleaders were also a very important part of the application, and they will benefit from new pom-poms, sound systems and gym mats. Two new volunteers have already attended cheerleader coaching courses in Bristol and will now be able to pass on their new-found skills.”

For more information about getting involved, click on the ‘Play Football’ or ‘Cheerleading’ tabs.

5-on-5 Flag Football action returned to Barnstaple last weekend, as Saturday April 1st saw the North Devon Dogs play host to a Plymouth Admirals team made up of players from both the Senior and Youth sides.

The best-of-three tournament provided not only fun, but good pre-season preparation for all the players taking part. With three of the four AFD teams represented on the day, it was the latest of several successful events involving players from around the county.

On the day, the Dogs proved to be unstoppable, particularly on Offense. Using all their Flag experience they won the tournament 3-0, avenging their defeat by the Admirals in the Dog Bowl last September.

The Dogs will be looking to build on this success at this weekends Easter Bowl III tournament being held in Coventry on 9th April.

For more information about the North Devon Dogs, click on the ‘Play Football’ tab.

Saturday March 18th @ YMCA Kitto Centre, Honicknowle Lane
Sunday March 19th @ Stonehouse Creek, Kings Road
Both sessions are 11am-3pm

The Plymouth Admirals are looking for new people to get involved with the action in their upcoming season!

So whether you fancy scoring touchdowns, making game-winning blocks or score-saving tackles, these two days are an excellent chance for beginners to come and have a go.

The Senior and Youth teams will both be there, so all ages from 8 to adult are welcome.

There’s no cost, just turn up in comfy sports clothes, studded boots and a gumshield if you have one.

If you have any other questions about the Festival, or about the Admirals, please email sam@americanfootballdevon.co.uk

The North Devon Dogs held their first ever tournament in Braunton on Sunday September 11th – the Dog Bowl - and it was a resounding success!

The 5-on-5 non-contact flag tournament played host to six teams in total, with the Dogs being joined by teams representing both the Plymouth Admirals and the Plymouth Admirals Youth. Also competing were Team Voodoo, the Crusaders and current ESFL leaders, the Chichester Sharks.

After an action-packed day it was the favourites Chichester who took the spoils, winning all their 5 games.

The three Devon representatives took the next three places. The Admirals finished second, surprising even themselves in their first flag tournament. North Devon Dogs came in a very strong third place, and the Admirals Youth, against more experienced opponents, achieved a very impressive fourth.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable day, and hosting it was a great achievement for the North Devon Dogs. Plans are already being made for next year’s competition that will, of course, be fully supported by American Football Devon.