The home of American Football in Beds, Bucks and Northants
Pre-Season training for all Ouse Valley Eagles teams starts on Sunday 6 January 2019 at Bedford International Athletics Stadium.
10:00am Seniors
11:00am Juniors and Youths
Please be on the field at the appointed time. Anyone coming to their first session please arrive in plenty of time for a chat with coaching staff.
Enjoy the remainder of your holidays and let’s be ready to go in the first week of the new year.
We’re back in Milton Keynes for another off-season try-out session. Come and join in.
Anyone wishing to have a try of the sport is welcome whether you are 13-19 youth / junior or 18+ . The session is free of charge, without pads and is aimed at people new to the sport or new to the club. Please be ready in plenty of time in outdoor sports clothing (3G surface) and bring water to drink.
We’re back in Bedford for another off-season try-out session. If you want to have a go at the game do come along. It’s all free!
Anyone wishing to have a try of the sport is welcome whether you are 13-19 youth / junior or 18+ . The session is free of charge, without pads and is aimed at people new to the sport or new to the club. Please be ready in plenty of time in outdoor sports clothing (grass surface) and bring water to drink.
Following a successful first dy at Bedford our second off-season Try-Out Session is at Stantonbury Campus, Milton Keynes on Sunday 11 November at Midday.
Anyone wishing to have a try of the sport is welcome whether you are 13-19 youth / junior or 18+ . The session is free of charge, without pads and is aimed at people new to the sport or new to the club. Please be ready in plenty of time in outdoor sports clothing (3G surface) and bring water to drink.
Our coaches will take you through drills which replicate the game so it will be good fun whilst you start picking up game skills.
Please come to as many sessions as you can. It’s all free of charge!!
The first of our November taster sessions is in Bedford on Sunday 4 November starting at Midday.
Anyone wishing to have a try of the sport is welcome whether you are 13-19 youth / junior or 18+ . The session is free of charge, without pads and is aimed at people new to the sport or new to the club. Please be ready in plenty of time in outdoor sports clothing (grass surface) and bring water to drink.
Although we are in the off-season there’s no excuse for slacking!
We’re hosting taster sessions for all of you wishing to have a try at the game on every Sunday in November. Doesn’t matter if you are youth (13-17), junior (16-19) or adult senior or flag (18+) please come along to any or all of them and run through drills and practices with our coaches. It’s all free of charge and suitable for anyone interested in the game. Look at the events or ‘Contact Us’ for more details.
Bedford Blackhawks defensive back Liam Cole has been named in the Great Britain Lions U17 developmental squad for the training camps taking place in May and June.
The GB U17 group is the development squad for the U19 team, and is aimed at players who have shown the skills to potentially progress to the U19 squad in the future.
Liam is the first player from the Eagles Academy to be selected for the development squad, and Head Coach Nick Benning said:
“We are all extremely proud of Liam as the first youth player being selected for an international squad. Having only taken up the sport mid-way through last season he has worked a hard on adapting his skill set and understanding the game.
“Physically he already possess no end of talent and we hope to help him develop his knowledge to match this and continue further on his journey. Liam has now set the bar for his team mates and I’m sure he will continue to raise it. Great work Liam!”
Speaking on the BAFA National Teams Facebook page, GB Head Coach Jason Henry said on the trials:
“Over the past decade I have had the chance to see U12 flag right up to U19 kitted and seen the talent we have in flag and U17 kitted programmes across the country. The coaches bought in with the idea of having players ‘grow’ with Team GB and planning success on and off the field.
“Yet again credit must go to the legions of dedicated coaches, volunteers and family members who have given young players the chance to grow and experience Football. The majority of the players attending had ever played football with more than 5 on a team but by the end of the day impressed coaches as the grasped and ran with the format which is 11 man tackle football.
“Congratulations on all the players selected to start the exciting chapter in their Football development.”
The Ouse Valley Eagles were formed in 2013 with the aim of becoming one of the leading lights for American Football in the UK.
The 2018 season is almost upon us but it is never too late to join one of our four teams:
Despite being a relatively new Club, the Eagles are made up of an experienced team of coaching and backroom staff, with more players registering to join each month.
The goal set by our founding committee was to have a club here still winning games in 25 years time, and for our children to be able to play for the same team we did.
That remains the goal today, and we are working every day to make the club bigger and stronger. To register your interest in joining any of the teams under the Ouse Valley banner please complete the form below:
The Blackhawks Flag team kick off their 2018 campaign at Weston Favell Academy in Northampton this weekend with games against the Northants Titans Black and Coventry Panthers.
Both sides are new opponents for the Hawks, who go into the season full of confidence and looking for a positive start following a disappointing 2017.
Andy Mattacks and David Avellaneda are set to make their debuts.
The games will be hosted by the Titans and the day also features match ups involving the Coventry Cougars Ladies, Northants Titans White, Rugby Raccoons and Leicester Huntsmen.
The first games of the day kick off at 11am, with the Blackhawks taking on the Panthers on Pitch 1 and Titans Black vs Leicester on Pitch 2:
Pitch 1
Pitch 2
The games will take place at Weston Cavell Academy, Northampton NN3 3EZ:
If you can’t make it to Northampton to watch the games we will be providing regular updates via the Blackhawks Twitter and Facebook pages.
This Saturday (17th March) sees the OVE Academy, consisting of Bedford Blackhawks and Milton Keynes Redwings, host the Nuneaton Jaguars in a joint training session and scrimmage.
The Jags are no strangers to the Blackhawks having hosted the Bedford lads on two occasions last season, so it’s only fair that the favour was returned to the fastest growing Youth Teams in the UK.
As part of the session all three squads will do their bit to help raise attention to this year’s Sports Relief and they welcome any interested 13-17 year-olds down to join the training section of the session.
Blackhawks Head Coach Nick Benning can’t wait for the session to begin:
“Much like our own set up, the Jags have had outstanding success going from nothing but a dream 18 months ago to one of the largest youth squads in the UK today.
“We joined Coach Lawrence’s team for two great sessions last year we are looking forward to returning the favour. On the day we will have boys and girls from all three teams working together learning from a variety of Coaches. We will then split down to take part in the kitted scrimmage and give our Rookies a true taste of what the season has in store for them.”
If you are aged between 13 and 17 or know someone who is that wants to take part, feel free to join the team at Stantonbury Campus in Milton Keynes from 11am on Saturday.
Due to the adverse weather conditions training is cancelled this weekend for all four teams:
– Milton Keynes Redwings (U17)
– Bedford Blackhawks (U17)
– Bedford Blackhawks (Senior Flag)
– Ouse Valley Eagles (Senior)
Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we hope to return to our usual practice schedule next week.
To register your interest in joining one of our teams please complete the form below: