Darlington Steam
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| Founded | 2013 |
|---|---|
| League | BAFA National Leagues |
| Division | Division One |
| Location | Darlington, County Durham, England |
| Stadium | Blackwell Meadows |
| Colours | Black Helmets Silver Jersey Black and Red Pants |
| Head coach | Darren Mitchell |
| Division titles | 2022 |
| Playoff berths | 2022 |
| Website | www.darlingtonsteam.com |
Darlington Steam are an American football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England that competes in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 Central, the second tier of British American football. The club play their home games at Blackwell Meadows, Darlington and were formed in late 2013 by Darren Mitchell, Lee Howitt and Brian Shade[1]. Steam applied for BAFA affiliation process in late 2016, and following a successful process were made into full BAFA members in Autumn 2018. They will play in Division One Central for the 2023 season.[2]
History[edit]
The club was founded in 2013 by Darren Mitchell, Lee Howitt and Brian Shade, to help increase the number of boys, girls, men and women participating in American Football at all levels from the age of 8 years old upwards in Darlington and the surrounding areas.
At the end of the 2016 season, due to the demand from the players, the decision was made by the coaches and committee to once again enter contact football. Not only had the club grown in numbers now we were in a position and have the passion to re-enter the adult contact league again. This will also allow us to provide a route for our younger players to progress to adult contact with the seamless transition with the club and not have to move clubs.
After an affiliate process, they were invited to the BAFA National League for the 2019 season, where they competed in the NFC North Division 2, where they failed to win any games they played.[3]
With BAFA announcing that the three-tier format would be suspended for one season and replaced by a localized division in order to minimize travel, In 2021, Steam were placed in the BAFA Hadrains Division, playing against Northumberland Vikings, Gateshead Senators and DC Presidents. Steam recorded there first competitive win with a 38-0 victory over DC Presidents.[4] Steam Finished the division with their first winning record, Winning 4 of the 7 games played. [2]
In 2022, due to Divisional realignment, Steam were placed into the NFC 2 East Division, where they won there first divisional title with a 7-1 record and entered the 2022 Playoffs, where they lost away to Scunthorpe Alphas 23-6.[5]
Steam still were promoted to Division 1 Central, due to the leagues realignment in 2023.[6]
Youth Team[edit]
Darlington Steam also run an Under 16s Team, which has just completed its first season of competitive football in 2022. Ran by coaches and players of the Adult team, the aim is to help develop the next generation of American Football players in the area.
Flag Team[edit]
Darlington Steam also run a Flag Football Team, which competed in the BAFA Flag Football Division 1 Highlands & North East Conference. Having completed the first season back from affiliate process, they won 3 games out of the 16 played, finishing bottom of the Division.[7]
Stadium[edit]
Steam play their home games at Blackwell Meadows, the home of Darlington Rugby Club and Darlington Football Club. Blackwell Mewadows is a multi-purpose sports ground that provides facilities for both american football, rugby union and association football, which provides the homes of Darlington RFC and Darlington F.C., with a capacity of 3,281 with 588 seats. Steam make use of the side pitches for training, meaning that the venue is their home for both training and match day.
Coaching staff[edit]
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach |  Darren Mitchell
|
| Offensive Coordinator | Lee Howitt
|
| Defensive Coordinator | Michael Rumney
|
| Special Teams Coordinator | Sean Carr
|
| Offensive Line Coach | Brian Shade
|
| Wide Reciever Coach | John Pacey
|
| Defensive Line Coach |  Patrick Humpert
|
| Defensive Backs Coach | Scott Rowell
|
| U16 Head Coach | Lee Kelly
|
Roster[edit]
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
|
Offensive Line
Defensive Line
|
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
|
Season records[edit]
| Season | League | Level | Regular Season Record | Post Season | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||
| 2019 | BAFANL NFC North Division 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | – | ||
| 2020 | BAFANL NFC North Division 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic | |
| 2021 | BAFANL Hadrians Division | – | 4 | 3 | 0 | - | Exhibition season due to COVID-19 Pandemic | |
| 2022 | BAFANL NFC East Division 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0–1 | Divisional Champions | |
| 2023 | BAFANL NFC Central Division 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | Promoted Due to Divisional Realignment | |
| Total | 13 | 10 | 0 | All-time regular season record | ||||
Honours[edit]
- BAFA National Leagues : NFC 2 East Champions - 2022
References[edit]
- ↑ "About us". Darlington Steam AFC. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "BAFA Adult Contact 2022 Season - Hadrians". bafanle.leaguerepublic.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ↑ "BAFA Adult Contact 2022 Season - NFC 2 North". bafanle.leaguerepublic.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ↑ "DC Presidents v Darlington Steam". Darlington Steam AFC. 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ↑ "Scunthorpe Alphas 23-6 Darlington Steam". bafanle.leaguerepublic.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ↑ tara. "2023 Adult Contact alignments and schedule confirmed – British American Football". Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ↑ "Adult Flag - Division 1 - Highlands & North East". bafaflag.leaguerepublic.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
External links[edit]
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