Trinity Thunderbolts

Dublin University American Football Club, or The Trinity College Thunderbolts as they are commonly known, are an American football team based in Trinity College Dublin. They play full NCAA rules football in the Irish American Football League (IAFL).

History

The clubs roots can be traced back to the early 1990's under the name 'Dublin University Gridiron Society'. They competed in the Irish Flag Football League under the name "Trinity Thunderbolts", but unfortunately the team did not take off due to a number of factors including lack of funding. This brief flirtation with Gridiron Football was a sign of things to come, as it was only a matter of time until the sport took on a more professional and enthusiastic appearance within the University. Due to the large amount of American and Canadian students studying in Trinity College Dublin combined with the understated interest for the sport in Ireland, the seeds of full kitted football were sown long before the club was reinstated in 2007.

The club was fully reinstated in October 2007 by the now club captain Conor O'Shea, as DUAFC - Dublin University American Football Club. The primary goal of the club was to play full NCAA rules football in the national league of Ireland, the IAFL. Due to the committed and hard working club committee, the Trinity College Thunderbolts made enough progress to be accepted into the IAFL's Development league for new clubs and rookie development. In their first ever season in existence, Head Coach Darrin O'Toole took the young and enthusiastic team under his wing and lead the Thunderbolts to probably the most impressive debut season in the history of the IAFL. DUAFC earned the respect of every team they played and showed huge potential and growth in every game played. Ending up with a 1-5 record, the team did themselves proud and caused quite a few teams in the IAFL to get hot under the collar!

For the 2008/2009 season, DUAFC will be moving up to the IAFL Senior League.

Info

The team trains and plays home games at the Trinity College playing fields in Santry, and the Trinity College Sports Centre on the TCD campus.

The Trinity College Thunderbolts are a student organization, run by and for the benefit of Trinity College students. Thus, its membership is restricted to TCD students, staff and alumni. Although, certain exceptions can be made and non-TCD players may be invited to the club by the Captain's Committee, if that person is deemed to be of "significant benefit" to the team.

The current (2008/2009) head coach is Darrin O'Toole. The current club Captain is Conor O'Shea.

Club Records

Best Season Record: 1-5 (2008 IAFL Development League)

Most Passing yards in a game: 210 yards - Hal Spottiswoode Hodson (2008 @ Dragons)

Most Passing TD's in a game: 2 TD's - Hal Spottiswoode Hodson (2008 @ Dragons)

Most Rushing Yards in a game: 110 yards - Conor O'Shea (2008 @ Dragons)

Most Rushing TD's in a game: 2 TD's - Conor O'Shea & Hal Spottiswoode Hodson (both 2008 @ Dragons)

Most Receiving Yards in a game: 70 yards - David Corcoran (2008 @ Dragons)

Most Sacks in a game: 4 - Hasse Hellan (2008 @ Dragons)

Most Tackles in a game: 9 - Hasse Hellan (2008 @ Dragons)

Loudest mouth: Conor McGovern

References

1 ^http://trinitythunderbolts.com

2 ^http://www.iafl.info

External links

* [http://trinitythunderbolts.com Official website]
* [http://www.bebo.com/trinityfootball Bebo site]