Author: Hellingly HoundDogs YAFC

Dog Bowl 2021 results

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Sunday saw the HoundDogs host their annual U11 and U14 Dog Bowl, an invitational Flag American Football event. The day saw clubs travel from all over the South of England to come and take part in the 2021 event.

The overall winner at the U11 age bracket was London Blitz who won all four of their games.

London Blitz U11’s Coach Sreeni Shaji collecting the Dog Bowl trophy from Hellingly Chairman Luke Boorer

The U14’s was won by Solent Redstorm who beat Kent Phoenix in the final.

Solent RedStorm U14’s Coaches, Simon Chambers & Ivan Cataroach collecting the Dog Bowl trophy from Hellingly Chairman Luke Boorer.

The U11’s HoundDogs results.

HHD 6 – 15 London Blitz
HHD 16 – 24 Kent Phoenix
HHD 8 – 22 Solent Spitfires
HHD 6 – 14 Solent Redstorm

U11’s coach, Phil Crisp added “The u11 team acquitted themselves extremely well against some very experienced sides. Despite over half the team only having taken up the sport in the last month or two, for two games they were within distance of the other teams, and two games were agonisingly lost on the very final plays of each game. Despite this, the HoundDogs’ rapid improvement and comparatively very young ages bodes extremely well for the future!!!”

MVP’s

Offence – Dylan Ticehurst
Defence – Aiden Brown
Mangers’ Award – Sonny Crisp

U14’s Results

HHD 6 – 6 Kent Phoenix
HHD 0 -20 Solent Redstorm
HHD 0 – 19 Kent Exiles
HHD 12 – 13 Brighton & Hove Scorpions

U14’s coach, Luke Boorer added “We succumbed to the evil Covid issue where we lost one of our offensive weapons because his whole class was sent home a few days ago. We also lost a couple of players also being unavailable for other reasons, but we played with what we had. I am very pleased with how all the players applied themselves. We had the bare minimum of players, so everyone played every snap of every game on offence and defence. All our players fought hard throughout their entire matches. They never let their heads drop.”

MVP’s

U14’s
Offence MVP – Frank Wilkinson
Defence MVP – Matt Wiggins
Manager’s Award – Chloe-Ann Wiggins

Chairman Luke Boorer added “The Dog Bowl is a major event for us. We are a club that is built on keeping fees as low as possible, enabling as many children as possible to play the sport that we love. Events like the Dog Bowl help us to make money which helps us to achieve our goals. I was very worried about the event this year. I kept an eye on the weather and it didn’t look good. As I drove to the ground on Sunday morning the heavens opened. We usually allow visiting teams to park on the outfield but, with the wet weather we had, I had to change this on the morning. We had to get everyone to park up North Street in Hellingly. So, I would like to take this moment to apologise to any local residents if this caused any issues. Each year we host the Dog Bowl event, we try to improve on the previous year. This year we ran an A5 gameday programme. This included fixtures, team information etc. We also sold some advertising space within the programme. Our gameday programme was sponsored by Haulaways, Power Fuels, JMD Builders Merchants and Todds Barbers. Tesco’s provided us with all the bread and sauces for the BBQ, KD butchers provided us with all the burgers and bacon at a reduced rate. We were also given raffle prizes from Football America, The Shore Bar, Power fuels and Elmbank Laser amongst others. Without generous businesses like these, our event would not be the success it was. I would also like to thank all the volunteers that helped out on the day, along with the parents who baked cakes. Peter Drake on the BBQ; Dom and Nicki on the raffle and cake stall; Heidi who kept things going and some of our U16’s and U19’s who helped run the games. A special mention goes to Cavan who helped Peter on the BBQ. He single-handedly served everyone their tea and coffee whilst serving the food and taking the money too. It’s seeing the older kids help out which makes me proud of the work our club (and many other great local clubs) do to keep kids engaged and off the streets. Our referees, Mary and Ted Smith, along with Lee Parsons were amazing on the day. Again, these three are all volunteers. I would also like to thank Andy Rose and Paul Kirk who kept the music going and compered the whole event. Andy has been running the music every year since we started hosting events, along with Richard Ashby. Unfortunately this year Richard is unwell, so Paul stood in to help. We all wish Richard well. I would like to also say thank you to Hellingly Cricket Club who allow us to use the pitches and Katie who ran the bar. I was asked this morning by another coach, “same time next year?”. Well, currently, my head says definitely, but my feet are still not agreeing!”

Full results
U11’s

SCS 0 -12 SR                                        SCS = South Coast Spitfires
KP 12 – 20 KE                                     SR = Solent RedStorm
SR 0 – 12 LB                                        LB = London Blitz
KE 0 – 24 SCS                                     KE = Kent Exiles
LB 16 – 0 KP                                        KP= Kent Phoenix
SR 20 – 6 KE                                        BHS = Brighton & Hove Scorpions
KE 12 – 22 LB                                      HHD = Hellingly HoundDogs
SCS 6 – 12 KP

U 14’s

BHS 0 – 7 KE
SR 22 – 0 BHS
KE 7 – 15 KP
BHS 13 – 16 KP
KP 6 – 18 SR
KE – 6 – 7 SR
Final KP 6 – 19 SR

HoundDogs travel to London Blitz

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Saturday the 26th of June saw the HoundDogs play their first ever National League U16 tournament, when they travelled to London Blitz. The team, which is combined with Kent Phoenix was mainly full of rookie players who had never played a contact game of football against an opposition before.

The team’s first game was against Kent Exiles, who are the reining National League Champions from 2019. The exiles ran away with the game and scored regularly against the inexperience Hellingly team. There were several positives made from the defence though, as they stopped the Exiles getting to 50 points on the board.

Hellingly 0 – 38

Next up was Wembley Stallions. This saw a vast improvement from the young Hellingly Team as they managed to get the offence going and crossed into the EndZone twice. However, the stallions offence managed to get over the milestone of 50 points.

Hellingly 16 – 52 Wembley Stallions

The last game saw the HoundDogs take on the hosts, London Blitz. Both teams had fought hard all day but neither had managed to get a win. On the first play, the HoundDogs ran the ball all the way to the EndZone for a fantastic 45 yard TD. The HoundDogs then doubled their lead to take the score to 14-0. The Blitz came back strong and managed two TD’s of their own to take the score 14 all at half time. A change of ends saw the HoundDogs continue to run the ball effectively and continue to put pressure on the Blitz team. The game saw the HoundDogs run out winner to finish the day with their first win.

Hellingly 38 – 14 London Blitz

Coach Luke Boorer added “very proud of the team. We have a lot of young players who have never played in helmet and pads before against people who are not their friends. We have been working closely with Kent Phoenix to get this project off the floor. Both teams would struggle to attend tournament on their own due to player numbers, but combined, we have a lot more options. I am very proud of all the players to day who tried their best all day and never let their heads drop. I am delighted for the win, not for me as a coach, but for the players. It shows to them just how it feels to win and what hard work can achieve. I would like to thank all the other coaches, parents for their help this season and the referees, who without, we could not play.”

HoundDogs MVP

Defence – Finn Wilson, an captain’s performance on defence. Organised his troops and led from the front

Offence – Ollie Stratford, 1st ever game but keep his composure playing QB .

HoundDogs funds Defib for Clubhouse

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2019 saw the HoundDogs organisation make the decision to try and raise enough funds to purchase a defibrillator for the club house at Horsebridge Rec, the home of the HoundDogs as well as Hellingly Cricket Club, Hellingly Rugby Club and several other clubs.

Back in September 2019 the Coaches of the HoundDogs set out to raise around £500 by not drinking alcohol for the entire month. This feat, if anyone knows our coaches, was a massive ask, which they achieved, . The club then planned a sponsored 5K run for the players to raise the remaining balance. This is when the dreaded Covid hit. The project has been put onto the back burner as the club navigated its way through the pandemic.

“A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it’s an essential part in trying to save the life of someone who’s in cardiac arrest. A defibrillator may also be referred to as a defib, an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) or a PAD (Public Access Defibrillator).” Article from the British Hear Foundation website

The recent events in the Euro’s with Christian Ericksen, brought the need for these machines back to the lime light, not just amongst the HoundDogs organisation, but everyone in sport and the public. The club sent out a plea over Social Media for help to raise the remaining money needed to purchase this equipment. Two local companies came forward and offered donations to help the club. These companies were ZFE Consulting from Heathfield and IQ Builders Merchants who are based in Hellingly.

IQ Director, Stewart Kennedy added “IQ Builders Merchant noticed an appeal to raise the final funds for a defibrillator for Hellingly HoundDogs, with recent events occurring in the football world emphasising the need for such life saving equipment, IQ Builders Merchant agreed it to be the right thing to do in covering the value to allow Hellingly Hound Dogs to make the purchase.
We sincerely hope you guys never have to use but take comfort in the fact you have the kit should a situation arise and for that it is the IQ Family is proud to have helped.”

HoundDogs Club Chairman, Luke Boorer added “Raising the funds for a defib has been a goal of the club’s for sometime. With the news that came from the Euros, this brought the need for these machines into the public eye, so we thought that this may help us. We put an article up on Social Media and ZFE and IQ came forward to help us raise the additional funds that we needed. We will now be working with Hellingly Sports Trust to get this machine installed so should the worse ever happen, the equipment is in place that could save not only the life of a player of the HoundDogs but a member of any other team using Horsebridge or even a member of the public. Several of our Coaches have been trained for using these machines thanks to Phoenix Medical over in Hastings on a recently attended course. Its community spirit like this that helps to make our area such a fantastic place to live and bring up children. I would personally like to thank Ben from ZFE and Stewart from IQ builders Merchants for helping us to reach our goals”.

HoundDogs turn 5

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Today sees the HoundDogs organisation celebrate its 5th year since there were founded in 2016. The Club which now has 4 teams at different age group was founded back on the 5th of May 2016 by current Chair and Vice Chair, Luke Boorer and Aarron Jones.

Starting out with just an idea, a hand full of players and very little equipment, the club has grown, which has seen the HoundDogs go from a Flag only team to also now offering the contact version of the game to teenagers from across the region.

Chairman, Luke Boorer added “I would never have thought the club was ever going to become such a massive part of some many people lives. We are the only club In Sussex to offer all children the chance to play football from the age of 7 to 19. We have made it this far thanks to lots of people help including all the current and former committee members, the players and their parents, sponsors, coaches, Active Hailsham, Hellingly Sport Trust and many more.



The idea really came to us from a couple of players that use to play for Hastings Conquerors before they decided the kids programme wasn’t worth the effort. These handful of players continued to nag me to about when it was reforming. We waited to see what was going on with the youth team over there and after a handful of months had past and I was never contacted, Aarron and myself decided to go it alone and we haven’t looked back. A few special mentions has to go to Ian Miles from Kent Phoenix and Ted Smith who was with the Exiles then for all the help they offered in both advice and the basic forms etc we needed to get the club running. I honestly think without these two, we may not be as successful as we have been.

Last season saw our first player age out of the HoundDogs, which was a new and sad experience for us. He has gone over to Sussex Thunder to continue playing, but still comes back on a Wednesday to help train our Flag kids. That to me is worth more than any title. For us, the club is about helping kids to become adults that their community can be proud of as well as giving back to those that gave to them.”

The HoundDogs are recruiting for the 2021 season. If you are aged 7 to 18 and want to give american Football a go, contact the club today.

The Dog Bowl is BACK

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The HoundDogs Committee are delighted to announce that the Invitational Flag American Football tournament will be back in 2021 after last years event being cancelled due to Coronavirus.

The event will take place at the home of the HoundDogs on Sunday the 4th of July, which of course is Independence Day in the US.

The event will see some of the best of Flag American Football across two age groups, which are the U11’s and the U14’s age categories. The day will see the licenced bar open offering drinks, thanks to Hellingly Cricket Club. There will also be a BBQ offering burgers, bacon rolls and hot dogs, along with a raffle, clothes stall and cake stalls.

Teams are now invited to express an interest in this event if they wish to take part. Please email us on hellinglyhounddogs@hotmail.com

The HoundDogs are also looking for local companies that may be interested in advertising in the Dog Bowl brochure or donating a raffle prize. If you think this may be something that your company or a company that you know, please contact us.