The Class of 2016: Manchester Tyrants
15th February 2015: The University of Manchester American Football Team, also known as the Manchester Tyrants, finish their disappointing 2014/15 season with a win against the Bangor MudDogs. They finished 6th in the league and held a 3W-5L record.
13th March 2016: 13 months later, the Manchester Tyrants finish their 2015/16 season again disappointed. However, this time round the Tyrants ended their season in the BUCS Northern Conference Cup Final, losing out to LJMU Fury (28-40). The Tyrants finished with an impressive 8W-0L regular season and a 1W-1L post-season. As Northern 2A Champions, they had an offence that scored 88 more, and a defence that conceded 83 less, than the divisional runners up.
In one year the Manchester Tyrants have made the impressive move from being a middle-table team, to division champions. One aspect of this improvement is accounted for by the nationwide reshuffle of the university leagues prior to the 2015/16 season. A move that saw the Tyrants drop down into Division 2: The newly-created third tier of British university football. This had the double-barrelled effect of reducing the quality of the team’s competition, at the same time as adding fuel to the new Tyrant promotion effort. They were better than the third-tier and they set out to prove that. Proof that can now be found in their undefeated regular season and a semi-final victory over the Midlands 2A Champions, the Coventry Jets, to secure promotion to Division 1.
Nevertheless, the significance of the reshuffle pales in comparison to the team dynamic. The key factor behind the Tyrants’ 2015/16 successes. Perhaps the most talented rookie class in Tyrant history, mixed with a solid core of veterans, resulting in a squad that would break the vast majority of existing club-records. While one could detail the club’s various background improvements, such as the purchase of Hudl or increased team gym sessions, the team dynamic is best reflected in the responses of the team captains when asked to give a general quote on the team:
“Watching this team transform the way it has over the last 4 years has been a privilege. It’s become a vibrant program with a strong family feel. The coaches’ determination and long hours, pushing us to work harder, have been paramount to what I can confidently say is the strongest squad we’ve ever had”. – Luke Hart (Captain)
“The team that wins games is the one that wants it the most. That doesn’t mean crying if things go badly. It’s putting the extra step in, not complaining, getting stuck in, getting muddy and sweaty and bloody and hurt. Just get on that field and do everything you can to win games”. – Phillip Carson (Captain)
“Every game has been a battle, sometimes even against ourselves yet we manage to pull through. But we’ve just been building momentum. I’m excited to show Division 1 what we Tyrants are made of”. – Lawrence Sarpong (Captain)
“I am extremely proud of the team, managing to have a perfect regular season. Gutted that I was unable to play in the final due to injury, and hated losing the final. But, the most important part of the season was getting promoted to Div 1.” – Ross McDermott (Captain/Vice-Chairman)
All in all, despite losing some key players to placement years and graduation, the Tyrants expect to hit the ground running in Division 1. However, before an off-season of monstrous feasting followed by even more monstrous gym sessions, the Tyrants are gearing up for the 2016 Christie Championships against the Universities of Leeds and Liverpool; the second oldest inter-university sports competition behind the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry. If you truly want to grasp the essence of Tyrant Football, get yourself down to Burnage Rugby Football Club on Sunday 17th April for 2PM as the Tyrants look for another clean sweep. This article will conclude with a message from Samuel Purkiss, the departing Tyrant Chairman:
“Four years ago, when I joined the Tyrants the team was in its infancy and American Football wasn’t even a BUCS sport. We trained in local parks, with only a handful of players but somehow we still made it to the national playoff quarter finals.
“The next season was extremely difficult and it was towards the end of this season that I took over as the Tyrant chairman. With the help of the committee and our head coach, Pete Birds, we set out a very ambitious 3-year plan that challenged us to go from a 0-7 season in the bottom tier of British football to promotion to Division One.
“We started this season with a very successful recruitment drive that saw us increase our coaching staff to 15 and our roster to around 70 active players. The hard work and planning put in by everybody (especially the committee and coaching staff) was rewarded with an undefeated 8-0 record in the regular season. This led us to a national semi-final against Coventry Jets where a 30-17 victory sealed our promotion to Division One.
“The BUCS national final saw us take on an old rival, LJM, who were separated from us in the last league restructure. Whilst this game sadly resulted in our only defeat of the season we finished with a silver medal and promotion a full year earlier than planned. This represents an incredible transformation and is an achievement we are all extremely proud of.
“With many of our senior players graduating this summer, next year presents a whole new set of challenges. Despite this, the very strong foundations we have put in place will hopefully allow us to achieve the targets of our next 3-year plan, which will ultimately see us promoted to the Premiership.
“My time with the Tyrants has been a real labour of love and I honestly don’t think I could be more proud of this team. It’s been quite a journey and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who I have met along the way. It’s been an honour and a privilege to serve this team and I can’t believe my time with it is over.
“Without the help we have received from the Coaching staff, the Athletics Union, the Manchester Titans and countless others, none of this would have been possible, so from everyone at the Tyrants: Thank you!
“I wish this team nothing but the best of luck in the future and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”