The Eagles have a key mission to promote the sport of American Football and grow youth participation in our region. There’s lots of evidence to show that encouraging young people into the game early has benefits to the game and to public health objectives in general.
We have been partnering with American Football Development (AFD) to build an entry level program to be hosted at schools and colleges in Bedfordshire and North Buckinghamshire.
We are delighted to announce that The Bucks and Milton Keynes Sports and Activity Partnership (LEAP) has awarded Ouse Valley Eagles a grant of £3000. This is to build a satellite youth club operating out of Buckingham School for the next two seasons and builds on a successful Sportivate seven week taster session which we ran in Buckingham before last Christmas. AFD will provide the initial coaching delivery.
Part of the program is to create a sustainable coaching model in order to train at least ten aspiring coaches through an accreditation pathway during this period. These will be drawn from existing teaching staff, OVE senior players and potential coaches new to the sport.
We would like to thank and acknowledge the support of AFD, LEAP and Aylesbury Vale Disctict Council in establishing this opportunity. We plan to extend this model to further schools and colleges and grow a network of satellite clubs with Ouse Valley Eagles as the hub.
Speaking on behalf of the Club, Vice Chairman Mark Chilton commented:
This represents another step in our Club’s development.
There has been a recent surge of interest in American Football among the 14-17 year age range. The sport has a responsibility to capitalise on that to grow participation at all levels of the game in terms of playing, coaching and support.
This a great opportunity and hopefully the first of many.
Guthrie Miller of AFD agreed:
This is fantastic news. AFD are looking forward to working with OVE to get the program up and running.
If you would like further information about satellite club development or how your school or college may partner with the Eagles in a similar way please get in touch.