Off
season goes from strength to strength
The
Forth Valley Fusion are using the off season to good
effect at the Pitreavie Performance Centre, Dunfermline,
as they complete week 4 of their 15 week off season
Strength & Conditioning program.
Coaches
are extremely pleased with their development and the
effort the players are putting in to excel as athletes
and individuals.
Coach
Bramwell commented, "It's great to see the guys
doing so well and they are clearly enjoying it. Not
only are they getting stronger and fitter, but it's
a great team building exercise as well, keeping the
players together during the off season."
Pre
season practice starts on Wednesday 14th January. If
anyone aged 16-18 would like to play with the Fusion
in our 2009 season, they can get in touch with Headcoach
Edmonston
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Week
4 of Fusion off season Strength & Conditioning
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Touchdown
at Duloch Library
(Fife Direct 17th September,
2008)
COACHES
and team members from Fife Fire and Forth Valley Fusion
American Football teams touched down at Duloch Library
last week.
The
teams, who train and play at Duloch Community Campus,
have donated a collection of coaching books and DVDs
to the library. Players and coaches will use the comprehensive
training resource and library facilities to complement
the excellent amenities provided at Duloch Leisure Centre.
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Coach
Mark Bramwell explained, "With this coaches library
in place, we now have the theory side to accompany the
practical elements of football. As well as bringing
the sport to the local community library, we ensure
our coaches are the best placed and prepared to deliver
engaging and fundamental football practice."
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A
new football team – US style
(Fife Free Press 17th July,
2008)
A
NEW American football team has been launched in Dunfermline.
The new Forth Valley Football team, aimed at 16-19-year-olds,
was launched at Duloch Leisure Centre in Dunfermline's
Eastern Expansion on Saturday.
With Forth Valley Football enjoying support from two
established programmes either side of the Forth -
Fife Fire American Football Club and Edinburgh Wolves
American Football Club - the team has a solid foundation.
The new team will give players from both Edinburgh
and Fife's flourishing junior (14-16) programmes an
opportunity to continue their careers in the sport
and aims to take part in the British league from next
year. Forth Valley's newly-appointed interim head
coach Don Edmonston said: "I'm very excited to
be part of this new venture.I was a Scottish Claymore
and got to the highest level of the sport in this
country, but I had to join the sport late, at age
21, because of the lack of youth teams at the time."
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HEAD
TO HEAD: 2 of the players from Fife Fire and Edinburgh
Wolves.
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"With this new team we hope to give everyone
the chance to play football at a young age and that
early start can help them reach their full potential."
Organisers hope, with the facilities available at
Duloch Leisure Centre and Pitreavie Athletics Centre
and support from Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, Forth
Valley will have the best facilities of any youth
team in Scotland and set the standard across the UK.
Forth Valley general manager and coach, Mark Bramwell
said: "The initiative shown by all concerned
will enable youths from Fife and the Lothians to be
part of a vibrant new team that will allow them a
natural progression from junior to youth football."
Much of the team's coaching staff has been appointed
and equipment is in place, however a team name has
not yet been chosen – for very good reason.
A competition to name the team will be announced in
the coming weeks, giving everyone in Edinburgh, the
Lothians and Fife the chance to pick the name of the
new team.
The new team will train at Duloch Leisure Centre,
Dunfermline on Wednesdays, and everyone is welcome
regardless of ability or experience. Winter training
will be at Pitreavie Athletics Centre in Dunfermline.
All major equipment will be provided, with players
needing only a pair of boots and a gum shield.
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| Dunfermline
Gridiron side aim to hang tough in Duloch
(Dunfermline Press 17th July, 2008)
DUNFERMLINE’S
new American football franchise was launched at the
weekend and has already signed up 10 new players from
West Fife.
The
club, named Forth Valley Fusion, will train and play
at the Duloch Campus in Dunfermline’s eastern
expansion (DEX). And
they’ll look to pull in big home crowds in September
with two glamour friendly matches against Gateshead
Senators and Manchester Titans.
The
Duloch Campus will be the base for a centre of excellence,
run by the Forth Valley American Football Organisation.
During
the winter months, or off-season, Fusion will train
indoors at the revamped Pitreavie Athletics Centre.
The youth team is open to players aged 16-19 and, as
well as tapping into Dunfermline’s growing population,
will be fed players from Fife Fire’s juniors. |
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It’s
football, but not as we know it, as the American version
comes to Dunfermline with a whole new franchise getting
established in Duloch.
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Head
coach Don Edmonston said he was impressed with the turn-out
at Saturday’s launch. “There
were about five or six new folk wanting to come along
and we also had five others last Thursday at our first
training session,” he said. “To get 10 new
players in the first week is fantastic.”
Most
of the new recruits were rugby players looking to try
something different but size isn’t important.
“We
had a couple of big guys but there were all shapes and
sizes,” he said. “You don’t have to
be big to play wide receiver so size is not an issue.”
Team
bosses want an eventual squad of 25 before applying
for league membership next March, when they could face
teams from across the UK. They
also hope to erect American football goal posts and
start a troupe of cheerleaders.
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| Gridiron
touches down in Duloch with new team set for DEX
(Dunfermline
Press 12th June 2008)
THE
AMERICANS love it, we don’t understand it and
very soon it’s going to be played in Dunfermline.
Yes,
that’s right, the city is all set to get its newest
sporting ‘franchise’ – an American
football team. And
not only that but Dunfermline’s eastern expansion
(DEX) is set to be the headquarters of a centre of excellence
for the sport.
That’s
the plan of the Forth Valley American Football Organisation,
who have been impressed with the state-of-the-art facilities
at the new Duloch Campus.
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They
want to set-up a youth team for 16-19-year-olds at the
campus with training, games, conferences and sports
clinics all to take place there.
“It’s
in a good location for people coming here,” said
Don Edmonston, who will be on the coaching staff of
the as yet unnamed team.
“It’s
a brand new community there and a brand new facility.
It’s a fantastic place and fits in really well
with us.”
Don
is head coach of the Edinburgh Wolves American football
team and is also on the coaching staff for Great Britain’s
team. The
club will kick off on 10th July with an open training
session and are encouraging any lads in the city who
are interested to come along.
“We’re
looking to enter the team in the league next year,”
said Don, “but start playing friendlies by the
end of this year.”
Players
from throughout the Kingdom are welcome but Don is hoping
to tap into Dunfermline’s growing population to
find new talent. He
added that wannabe NFL starts don’t need any experience
and can be any shape or size to compete. If
successful in winning membership to the British American
Football League, the team could be playing away games
in Edinburgh or as far away as London.
The
team will be associated with Fife Fire, who are based
in Kirkcaldy and already play in the junior league.
There could even be cheerleaders at the games and, if
funding is found, American football-style goal posts
will go up on the campus’ playing fields. In
the meantime, however, they will be using the existing
rugby posts.
The
hunt is now on for a team name, with bosses encouraging
anyone with suggestions to get in touch. Other
teams in the league include the Highland Wildcats, Bolton
Bulldogs and Dundee Thunder.
“In
this sport it could be an animal but we hope to get
something different,” said Don.
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