Coventry Jets (American football)

Coventry Jets
Year Formed	2003
Team Colours	Navy Blue, Sky Blue and White
Home Field	Butts Park Arena, Coventry
Division	BAFA CL Premier Division
General Manager	Lorne Sam
Head Coach	Gerry McManus
Team History	Warwickshire Bears (1985) Coventry Bears (1986) CMK Bucks (1987) Coventry Bears (1988–1990) Coventry Jaguars (1990–1993, 2004)
Regular Season Record	49-17-1
Playoff Record	10-2-0
European Record	3-3-0
Friendly Record	2-0-0
Overall Record	64-22-1
European Ranking	Currently unranked
Playoff Appearances (7) 1986, 1991, 1992, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Conference Championships (4) 1986, 1991, 2005, 2006
Divisional Championships (4) 1991, 2005, 2006, 2008
League Championships (4) 1991, 2005, 2006, 2008
National Championships (1) 2008

The Coventry Jets are an American football team based in Coventry, England and were the 2008 National Champions. They currently play in the BAFA Community Leagues Premier division. The Jets have played their home games at a number of venues in Coventry, including the Butts Park Arena, which is home to the Coventry Rugby Club, Ricoh Arena, home to Coventry City F.C. and Ivor Preece Field, home to Broadstreet Rugby Club. Games have also been held at Manor Park and Liberty Way, Nuneaton, the previous and current home of Nuneaton Borough A.F.C. For the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the club play their home games at the home of Coventry R.F.C..^[1]

History

Coventry and American football

The first American Football club in Coventry was formed as the Warwickshire Bears in February 1984 by two local men with a lot of assistance from the head coach of the United States air base team at Chicksands. The Bears played their first season in the American Football League's Midland Division, which was arguably the toughest division in the Country. That year the Bears only posted one regular season victory, however, friendly games proved more productive, with the best result coming when they travelled to London to take on the unbeaten and eventual Summer Bowl finalists, Streatham Olympians. The Bears ran out easy winners with a 26:0 scoreline.

1986 saw the Bears in the Anglo Conference Central Division where the proved to be too experienced for the others and won the division with an 8 won and 2 lost record. This includes a British American Football League record victory of 100:0 over the Black Country Nailers. They also played host to International opposition when they played the top Norwegian team, the Oslo Trolls, losing the match by one point on the last kick of the game. The following year, in an effort to improve the overall talent levels and make the next step up, the club merged with Milton Keynes to form the CMK Bucks. It was a disaster. The team folded and lost a lot of talent to neighbouring teams, but reformed again as the Coventry Bears. At the end of 1990, a successful merger with the Walsall Titans once again transformed the clubs fortunes, with a dynamic new team called the Coventry Jaguars.

The Jaguars imported two US players, QB Travis Hunter from East Carolina University and Tight End Craig Otto of the University of Minnesota. This was the trigger for great things, the Jags winning every game in 1991, finishing 10-0, NDMA Division II Coca-Cola Cup Champions and also inflicted the first defeat in 7 years on the reigning USAAF Champions Upper Heyford Skykings.

In 1992 the Jags were loaded with talent, despite Hunter leaving for the formidable Birmingham Bulls team. Mark Cohen joined the team and he went onto a glittering career, culminating in playing professional football for the London Monarchs. The Skykings were beaten once again, this time on their own airbase. A semi-final defeat to the Kent Mustangs was disappointing but a narrow defeat by the Bulls showed just how good the Jags were. The following year the team had high expectations. After years of trying a Coventry team had finally made it into the big time NDMA Division 1 Superleague and mouth watering games against the Birmingham Bulls, Glasgow Lions, Nottingham Hoods, Leicester Panthers, Northants Storm and the great London Olympians. At QB the Jags brought in Cleveland Brown QB Clemente Gordon, LB Steve Donlin from the Toronto Argos and Head Coach Bruno Waldner had all the right credentials (former assistant coach of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings). An opening day defeat at the Bulls 14-6 signalled that the Jaguars were not out of their depth and even a 44-8 defeat at home to the reigning National Champion London Olympians was encouraging. However, Gordon and Donlin were to return to the USA, meaning the Jags had to go with an untried QB in young Jamie Kilby. Other key losses meant that by the end of the season the team had to fold. Key players from this season went on to play elsewhere and some would later return to form the new Jags. Jon McNulty, Kilby and future Birmingham Bulls Head Coach Chris Cunnane returned to Birmingham along with Karl Burgess, current Jets Head Coach Gerry McManus and RB coach Graham Huber, while Dave Cowens signed for the Leicester Panthers.

Formation and first season

Although there have been other American Football teams in Coventry in the past the current team started as the Coventry Jaguars in 2003. The team was the idea of former Jags and Birmingham Bulls QB, Jamie Kilby. Once current HC Gerry McManus heard of the new team, Jamie, Gerry and another former Jags and Bulls player Jon McNulty quickly set about putting coaches in place. They were able to tempt former Bulls & Britball legend Paul Newey, and former Jags, Panthers and Bulls players Dave Cowan and Karl Burgess out of retirement. Along the way they picked up 4 players from local BUAFL side Loughborough Aces and 2 American RBs who were studying in Coventry. The rest of the squad was made up of local rookie players. The Jags were competitive against all their opponents, going down 13-7 to the Oxford Saints in their first ever game and scoring in all but 1 game. Before the end of the season the club would start to recruit more players, QB Tim Spaull, replacing Kilby as QB and former NFLE WR Mark Cohen, another Britball legend. The season highlights were the trip to Cardiff to face the South Wales Warriors, losing 60-32 in what is still a club record combined score game, the clubs first TD, fittingly scored by Jon McNulty on a completed pass from Jamie Kilby and having 3 representative players on the GB Lions roster for the Group B Euro Championship in France.

In forming the club, Kilby, McManus and other members of the management had set their goal to be the best football organisation in the UK. Following the first season, it was obvious that there was a lot of time before they would be the best on the field but arguably they could claim to be the best off the field. With home games played at Broadstreet RFC Ivor Preece Field and attracting an average gate of 500 spectators they were the most watched team in the UK. The Jags had also secured major sponsorship from Coventry Aquatics and Fitness First and were gaining attention in the local press through their media output.

During the off season the Jags rebranded as the Jets. Though the club never had any association with the Jaguar car brand the club suffered harassment when it was announced that the car plant in Coventry would be closed. The rebranding distanced the club from this. The name Jets was chosen to honour Sir Frank Whittle who lived in the city and invented the jet engine.^[2] The Jets were getting ready to soar in 2005.

2005 Season

In 2005 the Jets signed many new players. GB Lions RBs Steve Coles and Tony Perkins would power the Jets running game while GB Lions QB Adam Lane arrived with a new playbook and offensive mentality. Brothers John and Lester Hopewell, both OGs, upgraded the Offensive line and brought with them experience of playing in Eurobowl with the Bergamo Lions. Defensively the Jets upgraded all areas. Bernie Hacksaw and Paul Rickhuss arrived on the Defensive line, an area of concern the previous year with many linemen playing both ways. The Jets benefited from the unfortunate end of Nene Valley Hybrids and picked up WR Luke Sikkema, LBs Steve Booth and Gary Royer and DB Wayne Gumbs, all of whom would play a major role during the season. More players arrived from Loughborough Aces and local BUAFL team Warwick Wolves. The newly opened Butts Arena would become the Jets home stadium for the season.

The team won every match they played in 2005, breaking several records on the way. In the play-offs the Jets played the Dundee Hurricanes, beating a spirited squad 35-0. This set up a huge semi final clash against West Coast Trojans, the most anticipated game of 2005. In front of 1500 people the Jets drew first blood, returning the opening KO for a TD. The Trojans replied straight away, working their way downfield with GB Lions WR Mark Squire scoring. This would be the only time they threatened the Jets end zone. The Trojans defense were man handled by the Jets front 5, RBs Coles and Perkins finding huge holes in the Trojans defense. QB Spaull had all the time he needed to pick apart their secondary, finding GB Lions pair Cohen and Tam Byrne for TDs before HT, the Jets leading 41-7. The Trojans were done, they had been beaten by a combination of aggression, power, speed and skill. QB McNey had been sacked 9 times in the 1st half alone. The game finished 55-7, the Jets rotating the whole squad and taking their foot off the gas in the 2nd half. Their win meant that they would be promoted for the 2006 season but they had one goal left, the division championship against Kent Exiles, also undefeated.

The Jets started nervously but got the first score on the board, QB Spaull finding Cohen. After that, the Exiles took control of the game, scoring 20 unanswered points and looking odds on to win. Angry at trailing 20-7 at the half, a spirited fight back from the Jets looked to have swung the game in their direction, taking the lead 24-20 but a bomb from Exiles' QB Matt Duncan beat the coverage and put Kent up 26-24. On the following KO however Tony Perkins returned the ball all the way, not only sealing a memorable win, 30-26, for the Jets but the MVP trophy in what will go down as one of the best finals in Britball history!

2006 season

2006 was another brilliant season for the Jets.^{[citation needed]} To start with, they secured a major headline sponsor, international property development company Cassidy Group, who had just became main sponsors of Coventry City FC and Coventry Blaze. Their support helped the club to realise the full potential of the sport in Coventry. Again the club attracted arguably some of the best British players in the BAFL to Coventry.^{[citation needed]} The signings of Jeremy Simms, Will White, Neil Edwards and Mike Dunson sent shockwaves through the league and made the Jets the team to beat.^{[citation needed]} They were joined by former Sioux Falls Cougar QB Joe Wright and former St. Ambrose Fighting Bee C Kurt Gersch. Links were also established with local BUAFL team Leicester Longhorns. DE Andy Steadman, LB Xin Xu and WR Nathan Dobson signed for the Jets, all of whom would play their part in the team's success.

In preseason the Jets travelled to Bergamo, Italy for a weekend training camp. Their hosts for the camp were Bergamo Lions, perennial Italian Super Bowl champions and three-time Eurobowl winners. There was a joint training session and a controlled scrimmage. This would prove a tough test for the Jets, Bergamo boasting a roster with 17 North American players with NCAA or CIS experience and led by former BYU QB Kevin Feterik. The scrimmage went well for the Jets; their offense moved the ball at will through the air and on the ground and their defense stepped up with 3 INTs, 1 returned to the house. As it was a scrimmage there was no official score but the Jets had managed more TDs than the Lions. It was also while the Jets were in Italy that links were made with New Zealand's Papatoetoe Wildcats. Their attention now turned to the upcoming league season.

Opening against Staffordshire Surge, the Jets won 39-0 in difficult conditions. Next up were local rivals Birmingham Bulls. The Bulls were a division above the Jets and came into the game full of confidence.^{[citation needed]} However, the Jets were just too powerful for the Bulls, winning comfortably 27-0. After this they hit full steam, powering over everyone else to register back to back 10-0 seasons. Kent Exiles stood before the Jets in the BAFL Div 1A semi final. There would be no repeat of the 2005 Div 2 Final, the Jets destroying Kent 63-18. In the final they met the Bristol Aztecs, who had overcome Ipswich 20-7. RB Tony Perkins picked off from where he left in Sheffield, taking the ball down the field for a TD on the opening drive. The Jets were in cruise control after this, scoring 3 TDs in the 1st quarter alone, the game finishing 52-20 and promotion secured to BAFL Div 1.

2007 season

The 2007 season started well for the Jets. In preseason they travelled to Milan to take part in the Milano Bowl II, facing the Milan Rhinos. The game was an early season test and the Jets rose to the occasion, winning 49-0 in their first away European game. They also were entering European competition for the first time, taking a place in the EFAF Cup. They beat Rivas Osos in their first EFAF Cup game convincingly in front of 1000 spectators at Manor Park, a game which was scheduled to be played at the Ricoh Arena, to open their season. On 6 May 2007 the Ricoh Arena hosted its inaugural American Football game. In front of a record 2000 fans the Jets beat the reigning BritBowl champions London Olympians 27-20. In between these games the Jets had played their local rivals, Birmingham Bulls, and won convincingly 42-0. This game again drew a large crowd, totalling just over 1000 spectators (known by the team as the 'Jets Faithful'). With attendances from the first 4 home games standing at just over 4,200 the Jets are the most watched team in the whole of the BAFL and one of the most watched American football teams in Europe.

The season would, however, end in disappointment. On 19th August the Jets suffered their first domestic defeat in 3 years at the hands of the London Blitz, losing 28-24. This meant that the Jets would finish 2nd in the inaugural BAFL Premier division. The Jets would find themselves once more heading to Sheffield, having overcome the Bristol Aztecs in a hard fought battle which went to the wire, 13-7. They would be up against the Blitz, who had beaten previous perennial champions London Olympians twice in as many weeks. The game would end in defeat for the Jets, losing 14-6.

2008 season

The 2008 season will see the Jets compete in the EFL, the top tier of European American Football as well as their domestic duties within BAFL.^{[dated info]} There have already been some significant changes, Coaches Athersmith, Micthell, Zerr and Barnes joining the squad. Coach Athersmith is the current head coach of BUAFL side Birmingham Lions and has worked as an offensive co-ordinator with the GB Lions and GB Bulldogs. Coach Mithcell was the head coach of Ipswich Cardinals, who were finalists in the 2007 D1 Finals and has been a coach on 2 British National Championship teams, 2001 Ipswich Cardinals and 2004 Farnham Knights. He was also a member of the Knights coaching staff in the 2004 EFAF Cup Final loss to Swarco Raiders Tirol of Austria. Coach Zerr, a Saskatoon native, will take over as Defensive Co-oordinator for the 2008 season. Coach Zerr was a member of the Saskatoon Hilltops in 1996, who won a national championship at High School in Canada and has 9 years of experience coaching Canadian High School level. Coach Barnes is a former wide receiver with the Michigan Wolverines and has 10 years experience as head coach at high school level in the United States.

Offensively the team welcomes back receivers Dom Olney, Nathan Dobson, Mark Cohen, Jeremy Simms, Joe Black and James Hossack along with new addition David Sonne, a Canadian national from rival outfit the Bristol Aztecs to forge arguably the strongest WR corps in the BAFL. Competing for the QB role this year are Neil Balthazaar, Stu Ennis and Dax Michelena. Balthazaar, a Canadian national and graduate from the University of Guelph played for the Aztecs last season where he led the team to a 5-4-1 record and a place in the BAFL Premier semi-final. A three-time Region of Peel All-Star and Canadian All-East Star faced the Jets twice in 2007, losing both games including a narrow loss to the Jets in the BAFL Premier semi-final. Ennis is a British QB and is regarded as one of the best in the UK. He previously played for the Birmingham Bulls and local BUAFL Birmingham Lions, where he set many team and league passing records. He has led the Bulls and Lions into the playoffs in their respective divisions before and won the BUAFL championship with the Lions. He is a talented athlete who may figure at free safety as well as QB. Michelena, an American national, previously played for Eidsvoll 1814s in Norway, where he led them to the Eurobowl semifinal and the Norwegian championship. He has previously played in France, Sweden and Germany. He is a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls, where he was the starting QB and still holds many school^[3] records.

The Team

Senior Team

The Jets have been able to attract players from all over the Midlands and indeed England. In the short time that the team has been in operation there have been many changes in the roster, many of the original 2004 squad not returning for the 2005 season, an indication on how tough 2004 was for the team. From the 2004 Jags roster there are only James Hossacks, Scott Morgan, Steve Mills, Dave Cowans and Paul Newey on the squad. Other squad members Kieran McManus, Alvin Messam and Lawrence Grugeon are on IR and Chris Hartley has moved into coaching. The Jets have also had some success with developing players. James Hossacks, Dom Olney and Michael Achola all received invitations to NFLE National testing days in 2005. Achola, Andy Steadman and Xin Xu were invited to NFLE training camps in 2006 and 2007. Andy Steadman is still involved with the NFL as a member of their NFL International Player Development squad. 2007 Centre Tyla Matia, fresh from winning the 2008 New Zealand Championship with his home town club and Jets New Zealand partner team Papatoetoe Wildcats, has been signed by Rio Grande Valley Dorados, an af2 team for the 2008 season.^[4] There have also been links with BUAFL teams before, with Jets personnel coaching with the Warwick Wolves, Birmingham Lions, Oxford Cavaliers, Leicester Longhorns, Loughborough Aces and the newly formed Liverpool Fury and Coventry University Jets over the past few seasons. The senior Jets currently train at University of Warwick Sports Centre, using their 3G Tarkett pitch.

Adult Flag Football Team

New for 2008 is the Coventry Jets Flag Team. Established by Adam Etheridge the team is proving to be very competitive in their first year of competition. They have been able to attract new people to the sport while being supported by the Jets main squad. WRs Mark Cohen and David Sonne, RB Shad McCook, QB Neil Balthazaar and FS Brian Over have all featured, helping the flag team become one of the forces of the newly formed BAFL Flag league.

Youth Team

Formed by Jamie Kilby and Jon McNulty in 2006, the Youth team are in the process of becoming full members of BAFL Youth and look to be competing in the league in 2009. So far they have played 3 5-a-side games and are currently undefeated having tied 18-18 in their first ever game against Bath Cardinals and beating Chester Romans twice. Current coaches include former Jets players Chris Hartley as HC and Karl Burgess as assistant coach. At the end of 2006 Shadrach McCook, youth team RB made the Team England squad for their annual game against Team Scotland as a WR, some achievement for a player who was yet to play a full game. In 2008 4 former youth players made the step up to the senior squad - Shadrach McCook, Richard Morrell, Hallam Reid and Andrew MacKenzie, while Rob Shaw signed with the newly formed Leicester Falcons. Anyone between the ages of 16-18 are eligible to play for the Jets youth team. With the new 2010 season starting, the Youth team has just named there captains in Sam Knight as Team Captain, Joe Brammer Offense Captain, Matt Gough "Goughy" as Linemem Captain, Tinashe 'Tj' Chieza as Defense Captain, and Paul Romaniuk as Special Teams Captain. This 2010 season has brought a wealth of new players one of which being new quarterback Joe Brammer from Texas. The Jets youth team have this season joined the BAFL League playing in the West Midlands Conference and are hoping for playing action.

Junior Team

At the start of the school year a new junior team was formed at Woodlands School,^[5] an all boys comprehensive school in Coventry. The school has a strong sporting tradition in the city, regularly turning out champion rugby teams not just at Coventry school level but across the Midlands as well and can count Rugby World Cup winners Neil Back and Danny Grewcock as former pupils. The teams, known as the Woodlands Wolves and Woodlands Wolverines, are continually growing and improving. They train 3 times a week, more than most BAFL and BUAFL teams and are hoping to become a force in junior and youth football over the upcoming years. The Jets junior team, which has recently been launched, is open for children aged between 14-16.

Rivals

Birmingham Bulls

The Birmingham Bulls, being the closest team to the Jets, were always going to be rivals when they finally met. The first meeting took place on 28 May 2006 in Coventry, the Jets comfortably winning 27-0. The following season the Bulls didn't fare any better, losing 42-0 in Nuneaton and 52-12 in Birmingham. In 2008 the Bulls travelled to Coventry full of confidence. However the Jets were keen on setting the tone for the season,winning 67-0 in what is the Bulls biggest defeat in their 25 year history. This rivalry was renewed in 2010, with the Bulls youth and Jets youth facing each other. Both contests were close, the Jets edging one 28-24 while the Bulls also won with a 30-24 scoreline.

Bristol Aztecs

The rivalry with the Bristol Aztecs came about following banter traded between players in the build up to the 2006 BAFL Div 1 Bowl game. Both sides are big and physical teams and there was no love lost on the pitch between the 2 sides but the Jets had to much class for the Aztecs and won big 52-20. Since that game the banter has continued between the 2 sides and there is a great amount of respect between the players of each squad. In 2007 the Jets again got the better of the Aztecs, winning 47-23 in Bristol and again 13-6 in the BAFL Premier semi final in Nuneaton.^[6] In 2008, a bad tempered and physical game in Coventry the Jets beat the Aztecs 28-15 and again in the semi-finals 31-28. In 2009, the Jets were once again victorious early in the season but would suffer their first lost to Bristol, going down 40-33 but lost in the 2009 national semi final 28-14 for a third consecutive year. in 2010 they continued their recent fortune in the regular season, recording two victories but once again went down in the semi final, 34-8.

London Blitz

Not a local rivalry, but the Jets and London Blitz have brutal affairs. Players and coaches on both teams have a huge amount of respect for each organisation. The Blitz ended the Jets unbeaten streak at Finsbury Park with a 28-24 win in August 2007. They were to met again in the Britbowl where the Blitz again came out on top, 14-6. As a mark of respect, the majority of the Jets players waited on the field for the Blitz squad to collect the winners trophy before heading to the changing rooms and the Jets Head Coach handed his opposite number a bottle of champagne to celebrate with. The Jets got their revenge in 2008 with a dominating performance, winning 41-15 and face the defending champions in Britbowl XXII. In 2009 the Blitz and Jets once again met in the Britbowl final with the Blitz taking back the Boston Trophy to London. The 2010 BAFA CL National final will once again be competed by both clubs, with the Jets looking to repeat the 2008 success.

Records

Season-by-Season record

BAFL

Season	W	L	T	%	Scored	Conceded	Finish	Playoff Results
Warwickshire Bears
1985	1	11	0	0.080	-	-	7th AFL Midlands Div	-
Coventry Bears
1986	8	2	0	0.800	338	82	1st BAFL Anglo Central	Lost Preliminary Round Luton Flyers 43-14
CMK Bucks
1987	5	5	0	0.500	209	267	3rd Budweiser National League Eastern	-
Coventry Bears
1988	5	3	2	0.600	170	128	3rd Budweiser Premier Div East Mids	-
1989	2	8	0	0.200	100	205	4th CGL Crown Div Central	-
1990	2	8	0	0.200	153	246	4th NCMMA Central	-
Coventry Jaguars
1991	10	0	0	1.000	500	104	1st NDMA Div 2 Northern	Won Semi-Final (West London Aces) 36-26 Won Final (Cardiff Mets) 52-28
1992	5	3	0	0.600	118	122	2nd NDMA Div 2 Northern	Lost Semi Final (Kent Mustangs) 18-6
1993	0	7	0	0.000	26	172	6th NDMA Central Conference	-
2004	0	8	1	0.056	90	264	6th BSL Div 2 South-West	-
Coventry Jets
2005	10	0	0	1.000	610	7	1st BAFL Div 2 Central	Won Quarter-Final (Dundee Hurricanes) 35-0 Won Semi-Final (West Coast Trojans) 55-6 Won Final (Kent Exiles) 30-26
Coventry Cassidy Jets
2006	10	0	0	1.000	418	21	1st BAFL Div 1a North	Won Semi-Final (Kent Exiles) 63-18 Won Final (Bristol Aztecs) 52-20
2007	9	1	0	0.900	414	130	2nd BAFL Premier	Won Semi-Final (Bristol Aztecs) 13-6 Lost Britbowl (London Blitz) 14-6
2008	8	0	0	1.000	266	64	1st BAFL Premier	Won Semi-Final (Bristol Aztecs) 31-28 Won Britbowl (London Blitz) 33-32
Totals	75	56	3	0.570	3412	1812

Europe

Season	W	L	T	%	Scored	Conceded	Stage	Euro Ranking
EFAF Cup
2007	1	1	0	0.500	58	44	Group Stage	15th
Eurobowl
2008	2	1	0	0.666	77	78	Lost Quarter Final (Swarco Raiders Tirol) 49-20	7th
Totals	3	2	0	0.600	135	122

Current Schedule

Date	Competition	Opponent	Venue	Score
12 April	EFL	Valencia Firebats	Home	36-16 W
26 April	EFL	Oslo Vikings	Away	21-13 W
10 May	EFL	Swarco Raiders Tirol	Away	49-20 L
18 May	BAFL	Birmingham Bulls	Home	67-0 W
24 May	BAFL	London Blitz	Home	41-15 W
1 June	BAFL	East Kilbride Pirates	Away	46-12 W
8 June	BAFL	Bristol Aztecs	Home	28-15 W
15 June	BAFL	Farnham Knights	Away	28-22 W
6 July	BAFL	Gateshead Senators	Home	1-0 W
10 August	BAFL	Birmingham Bulls	Away	54-0 W
24 August	BAFL	Gateshead Senators	Away	1-0 W
7 September	BAFL	Bristol Aztecs	Home	31-28 W
21 September	Britbowl	London Blitz	Keepmoat Stadium, Donacster	33-32 W

Team records

• 3rd longest winning streak in British American football history, 32 domestic games (2005–2007).^[7]
• 4th Highest average points scored, 61.0, 2005.^[7]
• 5th Most points scored in a season, 610, 2005.^[7]
• 3rd Least points conceded in a season, 6, 2005.^[7]
• 7th Least points conceded in a season, 21, 2006.^[7]

Team honours

BAFL Britbowl Champions, 2008.
BAFL Premier Division Champions, 2008.
BAFL Britbowl Finalist, 2007.
Nominated for Sports Team of the Year by Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Sports Awards, 2007.^[8]
Milano Bowl Champions, 2007.
Nominated for Sports Team of the Year by Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Sports Awards, 2006.
Cassidy Bowl Champions, 2006.
BAFL 1A Champions, 2006.
BAFL 1A North Conference Champions, 2006.
BAFL 2 Champions, 2005.
BAFL 2 North Champions.
BAFL 2 Central Conference Champions, 2005.

Playing Staff

Current roster

Coventry Jets roster
Quarterbacks 17 Ed Tate 19 Lorne Sam -- Josh Randall Running Backs  4 Kofi Campbell 25 Tony Perkins 31 Shadrach McCook 22 Lawrence Grugeon -- Emil Daszkiewicz -- Mark Higham Wide Receivers  7 Jeremy Simms 13 Si Mepstead 14 Chris Shorey 80 Sat Dhaliwal 18 Mark Cohen 11 Dom Olney		Offensive Linemen 75 Andrew Smith 66 Paul Rickhuss 73 Richard Barrett 69 Simon Volkwein 74 Adam O'Reilly 76 Ben Abbott 70 John Charlesworth 60 Kieran McManus -- Mike Bell Defensive Linemen 78 Matt Barrett  6 Kevin Mills 70 Steve Mills 91 Richard Carey 38 Colm Jones 55 Danny Williamson -- James Lewis -- Matt Wilson -- Matt Ball		Linebackers 49 Paul Newey 12 Will White 44 Andrew McKenzie 34 Vince Brown -- Alex Clarke 54 Mak Wade 36 Wale Oyemade 86 Johnny Read Defensive Backs  5 Dave Cowen 20 Adam Biggs 11 Wayne Gumbs 41 Anthony Nip  9 David Saul 23 Ant Martin 15 Rowelle Blenheim 28 Shaun Rice Kicker/Punter 16 Alan Steel -- Fraser Houston

Offensive Individual Records

• 1st TD Catches in A Season, WR Mark Cohen, 33.
• Joint 7th Longest Reception, WR Mark Cohen, 94yds vs East Kilbride Pirates, 15 July 2007.
• 8th Longest Field Goal, RB/K Steve Coles, 53 yds vs London Blitz, 19 August 2007.
• 9th Most Yards Receiving in 1 Game, WR Mark Cohen, 240yds, 2007.^[9]
• 10th Most Yards Receiving in 1 Game, WR Mark Cohen, 228yds, 2005.^[9]
• 10th Most TD Passes in 1 Game, QB Tim Spaull, 7, 2005.^[9]

Defensive Individual Records

• Joint 1st Most Inteceptions in A Game, DB Mike Dunson, 4 vs East Kilbride Pirates, 11 June 2006.

Individual Honours

FS/QB Paul Romaniuk, WR Chris Mepstead and DB/WR Tom Campbell selected for Filton Pride 2010 squad.
WR/SS David Saul selected for GB Lions for 2010 European Championships.
Youth QB Joe Brammer selected for GB Lions Youth squad, 2010.
DB Adam Biggs selected for GB Lions vs Centre College, 2010.
LB Gary Clark selected for GB Lions vs Australia and Sweden, 2009.
WRs Mark Cohen, Jeremy Simms, Joe Black and James Hossacks selected for GB Lions vs France, 2008.
QB Tim Spaull BAFL MVP, 2007.
DT Quinton Little nominated for BAFL Rookie of the Year, 2007.
C Tyler Matia signed by af2 Rio Grande Valley Dorados, 2007.
DE Andy Steadman invited to NFL International Player Development camps, 2007, 2008.
DB Danny Wardell attended NCAA Div 2 College, Southwest Minnesota State University, Redshirted, 2007.
HC Gerry McManus named Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Sports Awards Manager/Coach of the Year, 2006.^[10]
TE/DE Micahel Achola, DE Andy Steadman and LB Xin Xu selected for NFLE National Player testing, 2006.
RB Shadrach McCook selected for Team England vs Team Scotland, Edinburgh, 2006.
HC Gerry McManus named BAFCA Coach of the Year, 2005.
TE/DE Michael Achola, WRs James Hossacks and Dom Olney selected for NFLE National Player testing, 2005.
LB Parm Sidhu nominated for BAFL Rookie of the Year, 2005.
LB Paul Newey, WR Mark Cohen and RB Steve Coles selected as GB Lions captains vs Centre College, London, 2005.
LB Paul Newey, WR Mark Cohen, WR Tam Byrne, RB Steve Coles, DL Saul Freer and DL Bernie Hacksaw all selected for GB Lions Euro Championships, Finland, 2005.
LB Paul Newey, WR Mark Cohen and QB Jamie Kilby all selected for GB Lions, winning the Group B Euro Championships, France, 2004.

Coaching staff

Senior Team Coaches

Name	Position	Jets Exp	Previous Team
Gerry McManus	Head Coach/Defensive Line/Special Teams Co-Ordinator	7th Season	None
Graham Huber	Offensive Co-Ordinator/Running backs	6th Season	Warwick Wolves
Lorne Sam	Assistant Offensive Co-Ordinator/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers	1st Season	Green Bay Packers
Rowelle Blenman	Defensive Co-Ordinator	2nd Season	Scottish Claymores
Nigel Dias	Co-Defensive Co-ordinator	1st Season	Manchester Titans
Simon Vardy	Assistant Defensive Coordinator	2nd Season	Sheffield Sabres
Vince Brown	Linebackers	1st Season	None
Peter Cowler	Offensive Line	5th Season	Birmingham Bulls
Mike Bridges	Defensive Backs	6th Season	None
Joel Poirier	Physio	4th Season	Coventry Blaze IHC/Elite Therapy
Nicola Sherlock	Physio	4th Season	Coventry Blaze IHC/Elite Therapy

Youth Team Coaches

Name	Position	Jets Youth Exp	Previous Team
Adam Biggs	Head Coach/Defensive Co-Ordinator/Linebackers	1st Season	Lancashire Wolverines
Kieran McManus	Offensive Co-Ordinator/Special Teams Co-Ordinator/Offensive Line	1st Season	None
Paul Rickhuss	Assistant Head Coach/Running backs	1st Season	None
Steve Podmore	Assistant Offensive Co-Ordinator/Wide Receivers	1st Season	None
Gerry McManus	Defensive Line	1st Season	Coventry Jets Senior Team
Alex McCormick	Wide Receivers	1st Season	None
Wayne Gumbs	Defensive backs	1st Season	None
Roman Von Der Goltz	Quarterbacks	1st Season	Coventry Jets Senior Team
Paul Newey	Assistant Defensive Coach	1st Season	None
Joel Poirier	Physio	1st Season	Coventry Blaze IHC/Elite Therapy
Nicola Sherlock	Physio	1st Season	Coventry Blaze IHC/Elite Therapy

References

1. ^ "New Home Ground!". Coventry Cassidy Jets. 2009-03-09. http://www.cassidyjets.com/newsresults.php?newsid=461&gameid=. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
2. ^ "Jaguar link prompts name change". BBC News. 17 December 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/4104359.stm. Retrieved 30 April 2010. 
3. ^ University of Sioux Falls - Records
4. ^ Rio Grande Valley Dorados Arena Football 2
5. ^ Welcome to the Cassidy Jets Website! - News
6. ^ Welcome to the Cassidy Jets Website! - News
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Britballnow.co.uk Team Records". 28 October 2003. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071213213122/http://www.britballnow.co.uk/evo/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=24. Retrieved 2007-12-22 ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Coventry, Solihull & Warwickshire Sports Awards 2007
9. ^ ^{a b c} "Britballnow.co.uk Offense Records". 28 October 2003. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071213172011/http://www.britballnow.co.uk/evo/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=26. Retrieved 2007-12-22 ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ BBC - Coventry and Warwickshire - Sport - Bell, Bees and Boro win at Sports Awards

External links

• Coventry Jets Official Site
• Coventry Jets Forum at IC-Coventry
• Coventry's American football History
• Papatoetoe Wildcats, Jets partner team in New Zealand