Essex Blades (American football)

The Essex Blades are an American Football Club based at the University of Essex in Colchester, United Kingdom. The club is a member of the British Universities American Football League (BUAFL)'s Conference 4 North Division and has previously held membership of the now defunct British Collegiate American Football League (BCAFL). The Blades have shown steady improvement since entering the BCAFL in 2001-02, earning the first playoff appearance in team history in the 2004-05 season, while, also becoming BCAFL Team of the Year.

Varsity Teams

The Blades most storied rivalry is with the UEA Pirates, due partially to their proximity and with whom they play an annual "Derby Day" match for the "Pride of East Anglia" (PEA) Bowl. which is equivalent to other universities' Varsity fixtures and which is a non-league affair.

The Pirates won the first 11 league and bowl encounters between the two, however Essex finally gained the upper hand in 2006, winning both the league fixture and PEA Bowl V. The series currently stands at 5-15-0 in the Pirates' favour.

Early History

The original concept for a team at the University of Essex was conceived by Andrew Laing in 1998, intent on getting out of Norwich where he had been a long time component of the UEA Pirates program. His original idea revolved around the use of the name "Tempests" because he knew where he could borrow a set of jerseys with the correct moniker. However the idea stalled a couple of times before he was prompted to action by Rob Seal (a student at Essex and former Norwich Devils youth player) and Martin Boffey (another UEA alumnus).

After a brief set up process, the first interested player (Adrian Cooper) was signed up and the club began to grow from humble beginnings. 10 guys turned up for the first practice, the only equipment was two balls, and there was no kit. After the practice, a team meeting was held and the first committee was elected (Rob Seal was elected president, Adrian Cooper - Secretary, Simon Wesley - Treasurer and Darren Over - Social Secretary). Also the team name was chosen and the "Blades" was created. The ten guys also agreed to play a "friendly" against UEA set for Dec 2000 (just three weeks on). The Club were quickly accepted into the Students' Union Sports Federation thanks mainly to the hard work of Rob Seal.

The first game was played with Just 16 players and, bizarrely, Seal had also managed to borrow the shirts that Laing had originally based his whole plan around, so the name Tempest got one airing. The game was played in horrendous conditions and resulted in the first defeat in a rivalry that would proceed to become one of the most bitter in the entire league.

To gain entry into BCAFL the team had to play at least two games, so Andy went in search of another opponent. After sending out a number of invites, the Plymouth University Blitz replied. And (without checking a map, and believing that Plymouth was Portsmouth) Andy agreed to play them. So in Feb 2001 the Blades set out in a minibus with 14 sets of borrowed kit. Due to the distances involved the Blades chose to drive up the day before, but this limited the players available because of people having other commitments. The weekend was a strange one, the Minibus was cramped, the distances traveled were huge, the team numbers were small (13 players), we had to play in UEA shirts (yes, we had sunk that low) and we were outnumbered and outclassed by our opponents but the whole weekend was a success, in that the team developed its own spirit (and its first catch phrase "Three cheers for Portsmouth").

Two weeks after the first Blitz game, the teams met again, this time at Essex. Again Rob worked up a couple of miracles, first getting some rudimentary markings put down on the rugby firsts pitch and also organising our own shirts for the first home game. He also still got the game played even though the weather was again really terrible. The players also returned Plymouth's hospitality by putting them up around Campus. The home supporters were a bit confused but cheered away anyway and the squad was a bit bigger, but the Blitz still showed how an extra year can make such a difference by winning comfortably. They were rewarded with hot food supplied by Darren Over.

The games had been played but the administration went on. Rob Seal worked hard on budgets and managed to secure a very generous kit budget from the Union, which allowed us to buy 15 sets of kit. Later in the year Andy and Rob travelled to the league AGM to see the team voted in as new members (as were Plymouth). A final game against UEA fell through, and the team spent the summer term practicing in the newly arrived kit. At this point Andy also made his first coaching appointment with Coach Kevin Sharman joining as defensive co-ordinator. At the Teams AGM a constitution was approved, and Andy and Rob were both re-elected. Ado Cooper moved to treasurer, Matt Roberts was voted in as secretary. Also elected were Joe Stickings (game day co-ordinator), Adex Abimbola (Publicity) and Joel Baynes (Social Sec).

Blades In BCAFL (2001-07)

Season-by-Season Record

Blades In BUAFL (2007-Present)

Season-by-Season Record

Coaching

Now becoming a fully established franchise in the South East Division the Blades have seen many members of coaching through their doors.

Current Coaching Staff

Head Coaches

Andy Laing - 2000-03

Record 0-15-1

Bio

Installed the disastrous triple option and was fired for being inept. Now at ARU Phantoms where the triple option has been revived, unfortunately for them.

Kevin Sharman - 2003-05

Record 8-7-1

Bio

Coach Kevin Sharman lead the team to their first win, first winning season and first play off appearance. They were sadly knocked out by the Birmingham Lions at the first stage, who then continued to win College Bowl XIX.

Sharman took the decision to step down after the season to pursue other endeavours.

Neil O'Hare - 2005-Present

Record 22-9-1

Bio

The Current Blades HC. O'Hare has a gleaming resume of titles and awards won as both a player and a coach, mainly with Tiptree Titans and Colchester Gladiators. He is a disciple of former Kutztown State and Colchester Gladiators Coach George Baldwin and installed his variant of the Wing-T system to keep the Blades winning record, whilst narrowly missing out on a playoff berth in the 2005-06 campaign.

The 2006-07 campaign saw a breakout year for the Blades winning their first ever division title with an undefeated 8-0 regular season. The Blades went on to win the first playoff game in team history before bowing out to eventual College Bowl XXI champion Bristol in the conference semi-finals.

2007-08 witnessed a rude awakening from a pre-season of high hopes, with a shocking performance against bitter rivals UEA to begin a torrid first term that included further losses to Hertfordshire and Greenwich and a solitary win away at Kent. The ship was righted in the second term and the Blades recovered to an even record by gutting out a slobberknocker against Greenwich on the final day of the regular season. The turnaround was complete, with another inspired victory over the Pirates on Derby Day (a win which ultimately proved crucial to an overall Essex University victory).

After a small intake of dedicated rookies, the 2008-09 season started of badly with a loss to fierce rivals, the UEA Pirates. The Blades then rebounded, beating Royal Holloway Bears, national champions the Southampton Stags and the Greenwich Mariners before suffering defeat at the hands of the Hertfordshire Hurricanes. The second term saw the Blades defeat the ARU Phantoms, Kent Falcons and the Surrey Stingers, ending the season 6-2; second best in Blades history. This enterred the Blades into the BUAFL Challenger Trophy where they lost to the eventual winners the Bath Killer Bees in the southern final.

Players of Note

Current Roster

Awards

Each year, the club awards a range of individuals who have performed outstandingly on the field in the preceding season. These alter periodically to reflect the club's development on the field.

2008-09

2007-08

2006-07

2005-06

2004-05

External links

• BCAFL
• Essex Blades Official Site