With only a week to go till the Bucs start their 2011 season, the Chorley Buccaneers coaches have all been busy prepared trainning plans and playbooks ready for the upcoming season.

The 2011 season see many coaching changes as the Lee Taylor steps down from the Cadet Flag Head Coach role due to work commitments, Lee will still be around the club and will be taking on the role of Welfare Officer making the Bucs a better club. Stepping into the Cadet Head Coach role is Mark Holt who coached the cadets last year as the Offensive Coordinator. Coach Holt will be assisted by a new addition to the Bucs coaching staff in the form of Keith Schofield. Coach Schofield who is a devoted parent supporter of the Bucs brings great enthusiasm to the club and will be an excellent asset to both the Club and the Cadet team.

The Junior Flag team keep their Head Coach Lawrence Quinn who enters his third year as Head Coach for the them. Unfortunately for the Junior Flag though, first year Defensive Coordinator Jon Varney steps down due to study commitments. However the great work that Coach Varney did for team won't be lost as Rachel Hull steps into his shoes for her debut year coaching at the Bucs. Coach Hull who has just finished her Bucs playing career after 7 years has more experience than anyone at the sport and will be amazing addition to the coaching staff.

Moving cross to the contact side of the club and Junior Kitted team also see a few changes too. Offensive Coordinator Coach Adam steps down after 2 years with the team. Head Coach Ian Nicolson will move across from being the Defensive Coordinator and take on the Offensive Coordinators role, and keeps his Running Backs Coach Lawrence Quinn, and Wide Receivers Coach Phil Riley. The kitted's defense will now be in the hands of ex-Bucs player Mark Balcombe.

Coach Balcombe who was an assistant coach for the Defense last year will be taking on the Defensive Coordinators role brings a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport to the team and will be a great addition to the Kitted team. Coach Balcombe also brings along another ex-Bucs player to the coaching ranks in the shape of Jonathan Gordon who will be the Linebackers coach for the team. We've both these former Bucs involved, the Defense looks set to be a great unit for 2011.

Training Details

The Bucs restart training next Saturday 15th January at Southlands High School on the Rugby pitch.

The Junior Kitted train from 10:30 - 1:30 with all players expected to be there for 10:15

The Cadet & Junior Flag train from 12:30 - 2:30 with all players expected to be there for 12:15

Every player that attends should have footwear suitable for grass, footwear suitable for astroturf, training clothes suitable to get wet and muddy, a gumshield, and a change of clothes for after training.

If you have any questions then please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We look forward to seeing you.

The Buccaneers will be working in Cooperation with Chorley Council on a 5 week project to get American Football more recognised in Chorley.

On Saturday 18th September the Bucs Junior Kitted team had an early get up to travel down to the Sixways Stadium in Worcester for the National Finals.

This was the Bucs third consecutive appearance at the National Finals and it was the third consecutive playoff game against the current National Champions the Clyde Valley Falcons.

It would be the Falcons that would start with the ball and with some solid tackling from the defense the Bucs soon found themselves on Offense. However the Falcons were quick to apply pressure and a fumbled Bucs snap recovered by the Falcons left the Bucs defending on their own 2 yard line. It took Clyde Valley just the one play to get the score and then get the 1 point conversion leaving the score at 7 - 0 to the Falcons.

The Bucs restarted with the ball but the Falcons defense was quick to stop running backs Dale and Holt for short or no gains, and the Bucs soon found themselves back on Defense. Clyde Valley were playing with confidence and gaining yards and soon found themselves in the Endzone for the second time but the conversion was unsuccessful making the score to 13 - 0 to the Falcons. With the Bucs needing a confident booster, running back Matt Holt broke off for a huge 26 yard run before being tackled, Offensive Captain and QB Rach Hull then passed to the Bucs leading Wide Receiver Tom Salerno for a nice ten yard gain. However after a very questionable fumble by Hull the Falcons recovered the ball to kill the Bucs momentum.

With some strong running from the Falcons the Bucs found themselves defending their goal-line again, and a short pass put the Falcons up 19 - 0 to end the half.

The second half saw the Bucs start with the ball and although the Bucs were making short gains the Falcons ended the drive by sacking QB Hull. As the Bucs defense took the field this time they were out to prove something, and some great pressure from Nose Tackle David Dale led to the Falcons QB throwing an arant pass which Linebacker Ben Shedwick intercepted and ran it back 8 yards for a Touchdown and the Bucs first points of the game. The conversion was no good making the score 19 - 6 to the Falcons.

As the Falcons Offense took the field again, the Bucs Defense was now looking more like their usual aggressive unit and weren't letting the Falcons get far, and as a Falcons receiver caught the ball, Linebacker Shedwick came in with a thundering hit to jar the ball loose and for fellow team mate Luke Hartley to recover the fumble and return it for 6 yards stepping out of bounds. So the Bucs Offense took the field but any momentum that they had been given was soon swallowed up by the Falcons Defense who intercepted a Hull pass and returned it for a score to make it 25 - 6.

As Hull took to the field again, she soon found herself under more pressure taking another heavy hit for the sack, but this as always didn't deter her and she completed the set of passes to Shedwick and also to veteran running back Alex Williams. The drive though ended up just short and the Falcons regained the ball at their own 5 yard line. The Bucs defense was still on top form though led by Captain Luke Haig Moir who was leading the unit in tackles, soon ended the drive to regain possession.

The next Bucs play was definitely the best play of the game with Hull passing to Williams who then was ruthless with his running and broke off several tackles to run 35 yards before being ankle tapped to the ground, however the Bucs still couldn't find a way past the strong Falcons Defense and after another change in possession the full time whistle blew to leave the Falcons victorious over the Bucs for the 3rd year running leaving the final score 25 - 6.

After the game Head Coach Ian Nicolson said "The players and the coaches are all disappointed that we have lost to a very strong Clyde Valley team again, but we must look at what we have achieved this season with a team mainly rookies. At the start of this year I wasn't sure if we would even have a team to compete in the league, but the new players came and all the team have worked so hard that I am so proud of each and every one of them."

The Bucs now will wind down their season with another 7 weeks left before they finish and then meet up in December for the end of season presentation.

If you would like to get involved with the Bucs then email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or contact Club Manager Ian Nicolson on 07787 530748

The Lancashire Academy of American Football will hold its Annual General Meeting at 2pm on 7th November 2010 at Blackburn RUFC. All members of the Academy are asked to attend.

At the AGM, election of the committee for 2010/2011 will take place. If you are interested in standing for a position on the committee, you can see an overview of the roles and responsibilities here. Further information is available in the constitution here. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with Chairman Paul Horsburgh at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Further information regarding the election process will be announced closer to the time.