Tag: Youth Sports

2021 HoundDogs Awards

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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 winners
U16 Award winners
U19 Award winners
Team photos including the new “Top Dog” Award for 2021
Coach Alastair Cameron-Dick, QB, Jacob Boorer, WR, Riley Davis, TE, Danny Townsend and Chairman, Luke Boorer.

HoundDogs hosting FREE Flag Football Taster Days

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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“

U16 finish season at Wembley

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On Saturday 4th of September, Hellingly Phoenix played, a joint team of Hellingly HoundDogs and Kent Phoenix, played in the final tournament of the 2021BAFA South Division. The games were hosted at the home ground of Wembley Stallions. Hellingly Phoenix would play three games however the game against London Blitz was classed as a scrimmage game, a non competitive game due to low players numbers on the Blitz behalf.

Rowan Crouch fights to get away for an Exile player. Photos courtesy of Martin Apps

Hellingly Phoenix’s defence started off well, making some big plays and containing the Kent Exiles offence from driving the ball down the field. However the offence could not get rolling in the first game and struggled to advance against the Kent Exiles defence. However Hellingly Phoenix’s defence displayed the strongest performance against the Kent Exiles holding them to three scores for the entire game. An interception from Ryan Hedges and another from Calvin Clark helped limit the high powered Kent Exiles offence. Strong pressure from Lucas Apps at nose tackle helped keep pressure on the Kent Exiles QB and strong performance from Fin Wilson, Sam Espie and Andre Silva, who was playing in his first ever contact game, helped limit the pass game.

Exiles 19 – 0 HoundDogs

The Kent Phoenix team next kicked off against the hosts, Wembley stallions. The offence had a better performance during the game and scored the first touchdown of the game midway through the first half. This was chalked off the board by the referees because the Hounddogs player celebrated as he entered the endzone. The rest of the game the Hellingly Phoenix offence came close but was simply just not good enough when the times mattered most. The defence put in another strong performance against the Wembley Stallions with, Charlie Brooker and Lucas Apps providing pressure to the Stallions QB. There was also impressive performances from Sam Espie, Fin Wilson, Ryan Hedges and Calvin Clark which helped hold the Wembley Stallions offence to only 12 points

Wembley Stallions 12 – 0 Hounddogs

For the final game of the season the Hellingly Phoenix would play a scrimmage against London Blitz which gave the younger side of the Hellingly Phoenix team a chance to show their talent. There was several good performances from Sol Irving and Joe Malloy on Offence.

Coach Luke Boorer added “It was been a massive learning curve for all our U16 players. Unlike most teams, we don’t get to train week in, week out with each other. We can see the progression from the first tournament to the last tournament. All the players have come on leaps and bounds. When you look back you can tell we were missing several key players in areas that really strengthen our game for the last tournament. But you go to these games with the players available and its great to see them step up and grab the opportunity with both hands.”

Article written by Ollie Stratford

BAFA U16 SOUTH EAST DIVISON FINISHING TABLE 2021

Legion lose opener against Stallions

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11/7/21 South East Legion @ Wembley Stallions report – Stan Wilson

Final score: 36-6 

Sunday the 11th of July, saw the Hound Dog’s U19 contingent play their first game of the season as the South East Legion along with players from Kent Phoenix, East Kent Mavericks and Brighton Scorpions. Whilst the score line may be underwhelming, the performance from the Legion was not was not. For the majority of the players, it was their first competitive football game but that didn’t stop them stepping up to the mark and delivering solid performances

Early in the 1st quarter, Legion struggled with self-inflicted penalties but thanks to aggressive QB play from Jacob Boorer, the offense was able to move the chains throughout the game and operate in enemy territory. Boorer showcased his chemistry with Bristol Pride, GB and Hound Dogs WR Riley Davis on multiple occasions and, when scrambling, even used a spin move to evade a would-be-tackler for a first down! 

QB Jacob Boorer on route to complete a 25 yard pass attempt – Photo courtesy of Tony Small

Legion struggled defensively throughout the first half with their lack of experience and numbers showing. However in the second half, the Stallions offense only managed to cross into the EndZone once with a pick six after a fumbled pass attempt. The second half was a vast improvement compared to the first half, which was led by Legion defensive captain, Stan Wilson. The biggest positive of the day defensively was the number of turnovers. South East Legion capitalised on several errant throws by intercepting the Stallions QB twice along with multiple forced fumbles recovered across all four quarters.

Whilst there were notable performances all across the roster, Hounddogs rookie centre Alex Edwards had perhaps the most impressive outing. Edwards improved dramatically after the first quarter and was a brick wall on the offensive line for the remainder of the game.

Riley Davis with the catch to move the ball downfield – Photo courtesy of Tony Small

South East Legion will look to record their first win of the year on the 25th of July away at the Thames Valley Tigers. Expect a big performance from the team as they begin to find their groove and turn heads in the Britball world.

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 .