Plymouth Blitz (BUAFL)

Plymouth Blitz are an American football team based in Plymouth, Devon, England. The team is a member of the British Universities American Football League's Conference 3 Southern Division. The Blitz competed in the predecessor British Collegiate American Football League for four seasons up to 2006. The team finished with a 5-3 record in 2009.

Team records by season

• 2001-02 - 2-6-0
• 2002-03 - 1-7-0
• 2003-04 - 3-5-0
• 2004-05 - 4-4-0
• 2005-06 - 2-6-0
• 2006-07 - 2-4-2
• 2007-08 - 1-7-0
• 2008-09 - 5-3-0

Awards & Trophys

• BCAFL Team of the year 2001
• BCAFL Southern Plate winners 2005

History of the club

The University of Plymouth American Football Club was founded in 1999 and given the name “Blitz”. This is due to the fact that proportionally Plymouth suffered more during the Blitz bombing of World War Two than London did. Pete Stuttard was nominated as the first president and Steve Perry took on the role of Head Coach. The club started with about 20 members and played its first game against the Bristol Bullets.

In the 2000-2001 season the club increased its strength and demonstrated that it could meet all the requirements to enter the BCAFL. Jon Wyse joined the team while Steve Perry continued as Head Coach and Defensive Co-ordinator. Dave Calver was voted in as the new president. It was decided to play two friendly games against another rookie team also trying to gain entry into the BCAFL, the Essex Blades. The year ended on a high with Greg Pigott #18 being the first Blitz player to be selected for the Southern Conference All-Star team, The Wildcats, as a QB and Punter/Kicker. A great achievement considering he had not yet completed a BCAFL season and a credit to his hard work and the quality of coaching he received.

Having met all the BCAFL requirements the Plymouth Blitz was accepted into the league for the 2001-02 season. Chris Renshaw joined as the RB Coach, Mark Tanner as QB and WR Coach, Mel German joined as Offensive Line Coach. Ken Tucker took on the role of both LB Coach and Defensive Co-ordinator and Stuart Booth was brought in to coach DBs. Sam Holder-Mark became the third president and led the club into their first year in the league with a club strength of 42 players. The club completed its first season 2-6 and was awarded team of the year by the BCAFL for its professional performance in its rookie season both on and off the field. The club also had two other firsts as James Burt was the first Blitz player to make it into the BCAFL All College Team and Frederick Walker was the first Blitz player to be selected for the GB Lions youth team. The team continued to receive support all season from a rejuvenated cheerleader squad now coached by Donna Harcus and renamed the Plymouth Hoes. Despite some appalling game day weather conditions the squad was always there on the sideline, often with a number of the girls then going down with colds and flu afterwards. In addition the girls were always there to brighten up the socials as well.

The 2002-03 season started with the largest recruitment the club had ever seen with the club strength at 70 players and 50 cheerleaders after Freshers’ Fair. Chris Renshaw moved to Offensive Co-ordinator and Jon Wyse moved to coach DBs with Jerome Cronin brought in to coach Defensive Line. Stephen Bentley took over as president as the team headed into its second season. The season ended 1-7, the only win coming against the Birmingham Lions, noted as one of the best Blitz performances and one of the most nail-biting games ever played by the club. To try and review the match here would not do it justice and the score line of 8-6 does not really tell the story. The Cheerleading Squad changed its name to the Plymouth Blaze and dramatically increased its strength. The Blaze were able to put forward 15-25 girls on game day. A cheerleading sub-committee was created to meet the demands of such a large squad. Seven Blitz players tried out for the Southern All Star team, DT James Burt was chosen to join the squad and Frederick Walker narrowly missed out on a place.

The 2003-04 season finished 3-5 and under new president, Stuart Toogood, there was a healthy recruitment of new players including those from Italy and America as well as the usual intake of British players. The coaching staff was reduced to Coach Perry, Coach Tanner and Coach Tucker with ex-president Stephen Bentley helping with Offensive Line due to a knee injury and James Burt helping with strength and conditioning. This would prove to be the most successful season the Blitz had ever seen finishing 4-4, narrowly missing off on the playoffs after an end of season loss to Bristol. The Blitz decided to enter the Southern Plate competition to extend their season, beating the Surrey Stingers and the Warwick Wolves to win the title. The season ended on a low note with the departure of the club’s founding member, Head Coach Steve Perry.

The 2005-06 season started with a new Head Coach in Ken Tucker the former Defensive Co-ordinator. He appointed Martin Pragnell (Defensive Co-ordinator), Nick Pook (LB), Stuart Booth (DB), Simon Buckett (Assistant DB), Tom McKenzie (OL), James Burt (Assistant OL), Dave Cook (WR), Steve Connell (Assistant WR) and Jerome Cronin (Special Teams) as his coaching staff. With Richard Perry taking over as president, the club held its first “Mini Camp” over the first weekend following Freshers’ Fair. After losing a great deal of their experienced players at the end of their 2004-05 season the Blitz had a disappointing 2-6 season and parted ways with Coach Tucker shortly after Christmas. The Blitz did see one player selected for the Southern All Star Wildcats and also the Great Britain Bulldogs, Wide Receiver Mark McGowan. The Blaze Cheerleaders separated from the Blitz, becoming an independent club at the end of the season for financial reasons.

The 2006-07 season began with another change in coaching staff; Brian Smallworth was appointed Head Coach, adding Marco Pinder (Defensive Coordinator), Nick Pook (LB & DB) and James Burt (OL & DL). The year started well under President Dave Hughes with over 125 members recruited, sadly it was not to last with terrible weather conditions leading to games being called off. Sadly the club parted ways with Coach Smallworth due to a deterioration in his health after the Christmas break. The Blitz battled on to a 2-4-2 record in a hard fought season. On a positive note the club had its best year for players reaching the Southern All-Star Team with Dave Hughes (DT), Stephen Bentley (DT), Nicholas Yeubrey (DE) and Matt Henderson (DE) all making the team with Lydon Ward-Best (OL) being taken as a development player. Matt Henderson also successfully tried out for the Great Britain Senior Team, the Lions.

2007-08 started with the inevitable appointment of a Head Coach as Martin Pragnell returned to the club after a year of absence. He selected James Burt as Offensive Coordinator, Nick Pook as Linebacker Coach and Stephen Bentley to coach Running backs. Nick Copley took over the role of president as the club entered its first year of BUAFL. The Club had its most disappointing recruitment for 3 years only 60 players and this lack of depth showed over the season with close losses to Bristol Barracuda and Cardiff in the first half of the season. The 2007-08 season finally finishing in a 1-7 record after a last gasp win against Bristol Barracuda in the final home game of the season. After the clubs impressive showing the year before Lydon Ward-Best (OL) was the only Blitz player to make the Southern All Star Team, now rebranded the “MVP Team South”.

Coaching Staff 2008/2009 Season

Roster

2008-09

Directions

• Games (Staddiscombe) 1

Directions to training locations are listed on the club website (see below).

External links

• Official BUAFL Website
• Plymouth Blitz Official Site