Tag: Jake Cooper

FLAG | Stratford named Blackhawks Head Coach

14 Apr
Michael Dilley All News, Flag Football , ,

The Club are delighted to announce that Jonny Stratford has been named the new Head Coach of the Bedford Blackhawks adult flag team.

Stratford claimed the vacant spot having previously been held temporarily by Coach Ian Papworth, and says he can’t wait to get to work:

“It’s a great privilege to be named as the new Head Coach of such a great bunch of players. The potential which I have seen throughout the squad we have can I believe lead to great things for the club.

“I featured last year as a player and I’m delighted to make the move into building a coaching team to take us to new heights. The team chemistry is amazing and I can’t wait to get started on what I believe is going to be a great season for the Blackhawks!”

Jonny began his affiliation with the Blackhawks last year playing the entire debut season in the crucial linebacker role. Despite playing such a fundamental role within the Blackhawks defensive set up, Jonny also managed to put up three touchdowns in his debut season.

Speaking on the appointment, Flag Football Coordinator Jake Cooper said:

“Jonny possesses incredible amounts of natural raw talent which we are extremely looking forward to seeing implemented on the team. Despite being relatively new to the sport it was clear to see that Jonny has great ability to read the game and implement strategical changes to suit.

“We would like to thank him on the magnificent season he put up for the Blackhawks last season.”

The 2017 season gets underway for the Blackhawks this weekend when they travel to the West Essex Showboats, where they will also play Aylesbury Vale Spartans and Ware Wolves.

2016 AGM Minutes

28 Nov
Michael Dilley All News, Flag Football, Senior Football, Youth Football , , , , , , , , ,

The 2016 Annual General Meeting took place yesterday (Sunday 27th November) at Bedford International Athletics Stadium, and saw Michael Dilley named the new Club Chairman.

Attended by Club members, coaches, friends, family and supporters, the meeting covered off elections to the committee for the year ahead which included newly-created roles of Academy Coordinator and Flag Football Coordinator, as well as a brief financial update by Treasurer Nick Chapman, and a look ahead to the upcoming year.

Also discussed and approved were proposed changes to the Club Constitution to support the newly-created positions on the Club Committee.

2016 Committee Election Results
  • Chairman (two-year term): Michael Dilley
  • Academy Coordinator (one-year term): Mark Chilton
  • Flag Football Coordinator (one-year term): Jake Cooper
  • Communications Manager (one-year term): Michael Dilley
  • Child Welfare Officer (one-year term): Jenny Chilton
  • 3 x Ordinary Members (one-year term): Gareth Pullen, Ross Hubbard

Following the application and election process there is currently a vacancy on the Committee for an “Ordinary Member”. Fore more information on the role please get in touch.

To download the public version of the AGM presentation please click here.

PREVIEW | Blackhawks at full strength for round four

24 Jun
Michael Dilley All News, Flag Football, Previews , , , , , ,

The Blackhawks travel to Hertfordshire this weekend for their next round of BAFA Flag Southeastern Conference games.

The matches, which take place tomorrow, are hosted by the Ware Wolves and as well as the Blackhawks feature the Bishop’s Stortford HighFlyers and Victoria Park Panthers.

The Blackhawks have their full squad available and will at full strength for the first time all season.

Jed Parisi and Jake Cooper come up against their old teammates the Wolves for the first time, and Parisi is looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces:

The lads are all excited for this weekend’s games, no-one more than me and Jake as it’s our first game back against our team Ware.

This game day is critical if we are to qualify for the play-offs this season.

Schedule

The first game of the day will kick off at 10am, and pairs the hosts with the Panthers. The full schedule for the day is:

  • Ware Wolves vs Victoria Park Panthers
  • Bishop’s Stortford HighFlyers vs Bedford Blackhawks
  • Ware Wolves vs Bishop’s Stortford HighFlyers
  • Bedford Blackhawks vs Victoria Park Panthers
  • Bishop’s Stortford HighFlyers vs Victoria Park Panthers
  • Ware Wolves vs Bedford Blackhawks
Directions

The games will take place at Freman College, Bowling Green Lane, Buntingford, Hertfordshire SG9 9BT.

Directions are below, but please drive right to the end of Bowling Green Lane and into the school, straight ahead through to a small car park at the far end of the school. Walk alon side the gym onto the playing field:

Game Coverage

If you can’t make it to Buntingford to watch the games, we will be providing regular updates via the Blackhawks Twitter and Facebook pages.

Keep up-to-date with the latest news, squad details and events with out new mobile app for iOS and Android:

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Flag football coming to Bedford

08 Jan
Michael Dilley All News, Flag Football , , , , ,

The Eagles are delighted to announce the addition of a flag team to the Eagles family, following a merger with the recently-formed Bedfordshire Broncos.

The flag team will be known as the Bedford Blackhawks, and is one of hopefully many partnerships that will help continue to grow football in the Beds, Bucks and Northants area.

Flag football is the fastest growing format of the game in Great Britain, encompassing schools, colleges, universities and community football.

Flag is non-contact version of American Football where tackles are made by pulling a flag off an opposing player. The game retains the same principles as the contact form, but in a 5v5 non-contact arena with a maximum of 12 players per squad, and is a tremendous way to increase passing and catching fundamentals.

Speaking on behalf of the Blackhawks, Jake Cooper commented:

I am delighted that we have been able to complete this merger. Ouse Valley Football set their standards high which is an ethos we look to apply to ourselves. I’m sure with the guidance of the Eagles we will prosper from this movement, and I am looking forward to working with the club to build something we can all be proud of.

Eagles Chairman Neale McMaster added:

When the club was founded we had some big goals on an initial five-year plan, and today we complete a major one by adding an adult flag football team to the club. The Blackhawks will be competing in the league in 2016 thanks in large part to the hard work of Jake as well as Jed Parisi, and will be run from the existing committee structure with the addition of Jake as the Flag Football Representative.

The Ouse Valley Eagles were formed in 2013 following a merger between the Milton Keynes Pathfinders and Bedfordshire Blue Raiders, and now consist of three teams:

Ouse Valley Eagles – Adult Kitted – Age 18+
Bedford Blackhawks – Adult Flag – Age 16+
Bedford Blackhawks – Youth Kitted – Age 14-16 (U17)

The club is always on the lookout for new players, coaches and sponsors. If you would be interested in joining the club in any capacity please do not hesitate to get in touch.

As well as on ovfootball.com, you can stay up-to-date with all the latest news and events on our Facebook page (facebook.com/ovfootball) or via Twitter (@ovfootball).