Wednesday the 15th was an unusual Wednesday for the HoundDogs teams’. Instead of mud, sweat and pains, the shirts and dresses were out as the HoundDogs players attended the 2021 end of season awards. The Teams gathered, along with family members at Hailsham Town Football Club’s clubhouse with the evening being compared by chairman, Luke Boorer.
First up were the U11’s Flag team award winners followed by the U14, U16 and last of all the U19 Legion players. 2021 saw the introduction of the “Top Dog” Award, an award presented to a club person who has gone above and beyond for the help that they have offered the club off the field. This years winner is Cavan Baker-Sells for his help during the 2021 Dog Bowl event.
Chairman, Luke Boorer added “This is one of my favourite nights of the season. Its a great chance to see everyone dress up and celebrate the 2021 season. Its been a tricky year but on and off the pitch, with Covid having a massive knock on effect to the season. I would like to thank all the parents and players for their efforts. The work that the Committee has put in, has been second to none, but most importantly, I would like to thank the Coaches, who turn up week in, week out. Without them, we can not operate. I would also like to thank Dom and Hailsham Town Football Club who allow us to use their facility for the evening. Now the 2021 season is over, we are planning for the 2022 season which starts on Wednesday the 22nd of September. As you see, we do not get a lot of rest. On a side note, this season is a hard season for us. We lose three players for our club as they become to old to represent the club. Riley, Danny and Jacob were three of the founding members of the club when we set up some 5 and a half years ago. I would like to thank these three for helping the club get going all those years ago, their help with player recruitment and their commitment to helping us become who we are today. I know all three of these players can go and make a real difference at adult and universities teams around the UK.”
U11’s Award winners
U14 Award winnersU16 Award winnersU19 Award winnersTeam photos including the new “Top Dog” Award for 2021Coach Alastair Cameron-Dick, QB, Jacob Boorer, WR, Riley Davis, TE, Danny Townsend and Chairman, Luke Boorer.
The British American Football session is almost be over, but the Hounddogs organisation are already looking towards the 2022 season.
Wednesday the 22nd and 29th of September will be dedicated to promoting Flag American Football at the Club. These sessions are completely free for children aged 6 to 14 years of age. Flag Football is a very inclusive sports which sees girls and boys play in the same teams in a game which represents American Football but is completely a non-contact sport.
Anyone wishing to come along need to wear clothing suitable for playing sport in, suitable footwear for a grass pitch. They will also need to bring a drink. Each participant will need a parent/guardian to complete a consent form prior to taking part. These forms will be available on the evenings
Chairman, Luke Boorer added “Flag Football is the first chance that children get to try American Football in this country. It is a very inclusive sport, so no matter if you are fast or slow, small or tall, athletic or not, Flag football has a spot on the team for you. I also love Flag football as you get to see boys and girls playing side by side. We have several dedicated Flag coaches who are all DBS checked and have gained their coaching certificates, so your children will be in safe hands. Parents are encouraged to stay if they wish. As a club, we run a fantastic event each year called the Dog Bowl. This is a tournament of Flag Football across two age groups where teams from all over the South come and compete for the trophies. If any parent has questions about coming along, our club, please contact me on my email hellinglyhounddogs@hotmail.com“
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.
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 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
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 .
We are pleased to announce that the Hounddogs Teams will be returning to training from Wednesday the 17th of June at Horsebridge Rec.
These sessions will involve registered players only and we will not be accepting new players just yet.
We have a strict plans in place to protect our players from the spread of Covid-19.
Every players parent should have received an email from the Chairman explaining the rules around training and the procedures that the club has in place including social distancing and hand sanitising. If you haven’t received this, please let the club know through private message or email on hellinglyhounddogs@hotmail.com.
Chairman Luke Boorer added “It will be great to get back onto the pitch. Although it is going to seem very strange to start with as we have to reduce numbers and conform with social distancing rules etc. However, it will be great to get back out there in the summer sun and start to build up fitness levels as prey that we may be able to get a few friendlies in, but we are taking one step at a time. Currently we are not accepting new players as we have limited coaching levels but we are hopefully that as the government eases the lockdown, we can start to see more players returning as well as slots of new faces. I know some clubs have come in for a bit of a bashing from some within the sport for starting training but I feel we have measures in place, a fantastic Committee supporting the coaches. We are lucky that we have a facility that we can use and know that our kids and parents will assist us with any rule we put in place.”
Hellingly Hound Dogs Youth American Football Club 