29th Oct 09

Flyers go 3 from 3 

Bristol Academy Flyers finished one of the hardest weeks they will face this season with a 81 - 67 win over local rivals Taunton Tigers, the same team who beat Flyers for the first time in many years only a few weeks ago.

This brings Flyers total up to three wins this week, their 2nd  in the Trophy, and also the win against Coventry in the cup, and all at the New Look WISE Campus Arena. More importantly, the win tonight gives Flyers home court advantage in the quarter final, where I believe they will face London Leopards on January 10th.

Tonight's game was fiercely fought and the two referees had plenty of big calls to make, but although there were calls for a technical on Greg Streete from the Taunton fans, it was indeed a Taunton player who finally ended up bearing the brunt of the refs power and being issued a technical foul.

It has to be said that Taunton play extremely well as a team and they must wonder why the cannot beat the Flyers more often. They seemed much improved on last years team, especially N04 Tim Clifford, who pulled off some fantastic moves to break Flyers defence.

Doug McLaughlin Williams took to the court tonight even though he had been advised to rest by the physio, and it was a good job he did. Doug made many good plays through his time on court, and was a key player in tonight's victory.Young player, Rob Loftman was outstanding from distance tonight too, as was Mike Gregory who hit home three times from distance in the first half.

Flyers open up their Home League matches on November 7th, hosting Reading Rockets, a team who up till tonight had lost both their trophy games against London Mets and Leopards. Kapoulas will hope that this run of victories carries through till at least Christmas now, by which time he should have all his injured big men back in the squad. Arek Makowski is recovering well and should rejoin the team this week, whilst Tom Hutchinson is out again, with an injury to his wrist. McLaughlin-Williams proved his strength tonight and hopefully will not have done anything to worsen his problems.

Photos from this game can be seen on the photo page of this site.

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25th Oct 09

Flyers do the double

Following on from the nail bitter against Coventry last night, Flyer's went into the today's game against Plymouth with an air of confidence, but with Davis Bowne left on the bench due to the "One American" rule, it was down to Doug McLaughlin-Williams to hit the points. Plymouth opened the scoring almost from the tip, catching the defence napping, and it took a few more scores from the visitors to stir the home team. But like last night, the top end basket was not going to let the Flyers shots in, and time after time the ball shot away from the rim. Plymouth ended the first period only a point behind, and the pain started to show on coach Kapoulas and Burns faces. A harsh talk from Andreas saw a dejected looking team start the second period, but things were on the change.

Flyers doubled their score, taking their tally to 50 pints at the break, whilst keeping Plymouth to 38. And so the game was set. With Plymouth's coach being ejected from the stadium by the trio of referees on a technical, (which included telling a group of young Flyer's fans to "kiss his rear" via sign language, after they jokinly shouted out "Green Army" when the ref and coach clashed over a call.

 Plymouth held their composure well with their coach now back in the changing room making another cup of tea, and for a while looked like they were playing better, even though the third quarter saw them trail by 19 points. So it was the home team who went into the final session looking comfortable, and by half way through Flyershad it in the bag. A low scoring period, but the end result of 90 - 61 was enough to put a smile onto Coach Kapoulas' face again. Highest scorer was Doug McLaughlin Williams for the Flyers hitting 22 of the 90 points. Doug is certainly proving to be a great addition to the team already this season and is capable of far more. We look forward to seeing him and fellow country man Davis Bowne when Flyer's have their first home league challenge on November 7th against the might of Reading Rockets. Dont forget that this Thursday, Flyers are home for the third time in a week when they face Taunton Tigers in the National Trophy. Tip off at 8:15pm.

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Flyers Mourn the Passing of a True Gentleman

It is with deep regret that the Players, fans and officials of Bristol Academy Flyers Basketball Club are today mourning the passing of a legend of local league Basketball. Rob Henderson was both a well known and hugely well respected gentleman of the game who has provided the West of England  Basketball League with over 20 years of service and was made honourary life chairman for his efforts.

Rob will be sorely missed by the Basketball Community our thoughts and best wishes are with his family at this time.

Rob Henderson, 1938-2009

Monday, 26-Oct-2009

It is with great sadness that we have to report the death of Rob Henderson, Honorary Life President of the West of England Basketball Association, on October 23 2009.

Rob was a stalwart of basketball in the West for many years and was most usually associated with the KBI club. He was a founding member of KBI, formed as an activity of the Knowle and Brislington Institute, in 1957. In 2007, he was at the centre of KBI's 50th anniversary event. Previously he had played for Schoolmasters, a founding team of WEBBA, though this was before he qualified as a teacher himself. Rob came from Bath and spent just about his whole life in the city. For many years, he worked at Beechen Cliff School and developed many basketball players there during his time as a PE teacher.

In the 1960's, Rob was a driving force for KBI, taking them beyond WEBBA and onto a wider stage. It was during these years that KBI played in the Southern League, a premier national competition in the years before the motorway system made a truly national league, such as exists today, a viable proposition. In the mid-60's, KBI was the Southern League Champions and, as such, the team was one of two English representatives, the other coming from the north, that joined teams from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in a UK Championship held at Dunoon in Scotland. To get there, the team travelled by train. In these years, under Rob's influence, KBI was a regular entrant in the National Cup.

With regard to WEBBA, it is a measure of the success that Rob brought to KBI that since 1961 KBI has won the Men's Cup 20 times and has been Division 1 Champions 15 times. Notably, in the anniversary season, 2006-2007, KBI did a Cup and League double.

Rob was regularly a member of the WEBBA Committee in a variety of capacities over the years. Most recently, he was Chairman for some ten years and then became Vice Chairman, retiring from really active roles when his health began to fail. Then a couple of years ago, the AGM overwhelmingly elected him as its first Life President ever, amending the constitution in order to be able to do so. Rob continued to attend Committee meetings when he was able to do and in whatever capacity, he was always able to make a valued contribution to any discussion based on his knowledge of WEBBA's development over many years.

Outside of basketball, Rob was extremely active in the National Union of Teachers. He was a leading official of the Union in the local area and regularly attended national meetings.

Rob was a family man with one son and two daughters and a number of grandchildren. As yet, no date has been set for the funeral.

 Crusaders halted by last minute Flyers

New seating at the WISE

Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers left it right till the final minute to halt a Coventry team that were the stronger of the two teams for most of the game and walk out victorious with a 72- 69 point win.

Provissional report is available on the Senior Men's team page, and the full official report will be published there as soon as we get it.

 The win on Saturday see's Andreas Kapoulas’s Flyers move into the Quarter final stages of the National Trophy and heralds the start of bigger and better things for the Flyers within their new fantastic facility. Flyers will be led for the season by new club captain Greg Streete who has come through the Flyers junior club to now take the role as captain. “Greg deserves the captaincy; he is a great ambassador for the club as well as a great athlete and player. With him leading the team we should great things this season for the club. I know Greg is immensely proud of his achievements as we are and this is just another string to his bow” Comments Kapoulas.

Saturday was a full day of action at the WISE arena with the  Under 16’s, 18’s and Flyers II all in action before the big game.

On Sunday Flyers Entertain Plymouth in National Cup action at 5pm, hoping to progress to set up a local Derby with Taunton Tigers.

Tickets for Sundays game are available on the day priced:

£4 for Adults, £2 Under 16’s and Concessions and £8 for a family ticket.

For more information contact Danny James: 07747487914 or danny.james@filton.ac.uk

Firstly, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Coach Andreas Kapoulas has been made the new Director of Basketball at the WISE Campus. Andreas takes over from Danny James who has also been promoted to a senior post within the Academy. We wish both the very best for the future, and feel sure that Andreas will continue to improve the club, making it the best in the league.

 Starting this weekend, the WISE is having major works carried out to the seating at the court, with 600 new seats being installed.This is the latest in a number of new changes for the club, and will be ready for use for Flyers home game on the 24th against Coventry.

Flyers teams had mixed results this weekend, (Oct 10th).

First up was Flyers Premier South league, Under 18's who took on Medway Park Crusaders.

Crusaders made better use of the first half of the game, leading at the end of the first period by 19 - 20, and then extending the difference to 36 - 41 by the interval, but a strong Flyers team were not to be beaten. In the third period Flyers turned the 5 point difference into an 8 point lead, and a very impressive last quarter saw that lead increase, leaving the score line at 85 - 66 at the final buzzer.

Next up was the new Flyers womens team, who faced the established Bristol Storm team. The girls started well, and were down by just 4 points after the first 20 minutes, but a strong Storm was brewing and just like their namesakes, Flyers were grounded by its strength. 

Storm increased their lead to 13 by the half time hooter, and this was to continue for the second half.

PERIOD SCORES WERE

16    22    32    43

20    35    57    69

Finally it was Flyers II's turn to take to the court where they were to face Wellingborough Phoenix. This was to be a very close scoring game throughout, and by the end of the game the scores were tied at 86 - 86, forcing a period of overtime.

Flyers fought with everything they had to win, but it was Phoenix who were to end triumphant winning by just 4 points. This was Flyers second league loss this season, but the team can be pleased with their performance.

   

Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers announce more new signings ahead of the new season and are close to filling their roster ahead of their pre season opener against the USA Select Team on Thursday September 17^th, 7.30pm at the Filton College WISE Arena.

Flyers 2 American Imports Doug Mclaughlin Williams and Davis Bowen will be joined by a host of new faces.

Mike Gregory, Asa Waite and Tony Berry join the Flyers from former Division I team the Cardiff Celts who due to off court financial issues withdrew from this seasons competitions. Berry a 6”9 Centre brings an added physical presence to the clubs front court. The Welsh senior International joins 6”8 returning Flyer Tom Hutchinson and Import Bowen as the teams inside presence.

6”3 Asa Waite another Welsh international will bring additional athleticism to the Flyers and will look to fill the space left by Tyrone Treasures departure to College in Texas. Waite is a versatile guard and will fit in well with the team’s philosophy. Mike Gregory makes up the final signing from the now demised Cardiff Celts. Gregory a 6”6 inch forward who is a prolific scorer comes to the Flyers as a senior Welsh international but also having played professionally in Europe.

Jack Stannard another new face in the Flyers uniform has signed for the club after a year with a French Pro B team Cherbourg. Stannard a 6”3 guard will join returning Academy player and England under 18 Rob Loftman in the Flyers back Court. Stannard comes to the Flyers after a glittering junior career which saw him represent England at Under 18 level and Great Britain at Under 20’s.

Flyers have also signed a former fan favourite Arek Makowski who returns after a year away from playing. The “Polish Wizard” as he was fondly named by Flyers Fans brings more size to the team as the 6”7 inch former Polish International has committed ahead of the new season. Makowski is a prolific scorer who is a great 3 point shooter and a tenacious defender.

Enrique Garcia completes the new faces as the 6”8 Forward joins the Flyers from Luxembourg  where he played for the Racing Club Division I men’s team and the National team. Enrique will be studying at Bath University and is still eligible to play under 18 basketball. The 6”8 forward brings some more added height and athleticism to the Flyers front court.

Flyers will also see some more returning faces to the squad which include 6”2 guard Tony Watson and 6”3 forward Damon Dyer who have both played for the Flyers since there move to WISE in 2005.

Flyers will also complete the squad with the addition of the following Filton College Academy Players: Mike Farage a 6”3 guard, Iri Omoyemi a 6”2 guard, Jake Vye a 6”1 guard, Almasi Shimpei  5”8 guard and Japanese Under 16 International and Nasko Milenkov a 6”2 guard and Bulgarian Under 16 and 18 International.

Davis Bowen                                       Doug McLaughlin-Williams

Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers, Bristol’s first professional basketball team have announced their first 2 new signings ahead of the 2009/10 season.

The Flyers who compete in England Basketball’s Senior National League Division I begin the new season with a pre season friendly against the Team USA Select team on Thursday September the 17^th. Flyers who currently play in the 500 seat WISE Arena have been buoyed by the fact that on October the 24^th the Arena will unveil 600 additional seats installed ready for the new season making the venue a 1,000 seat Arena for game days. Flyers averaged crowds of 400 plus spectators last year and this season will see the home court Capacity grow ahead of the new season.

Flyers will be hoping to fill the arena with a flurry of new signings ahead of the season. Flyers can now confirm that their two American imports have signed contracts and have received work permits. The 2 players will fly in to join the team on Friday September 11^th.

Doug Mclaughlin Williams a 6”8 guard joins the Flyers after a stand out college career at NCAA Division I Appalachian State University, he comes with professional experience having played with Sheffield last year where he was selected for the Leagues All star starting 5.

“Doug brings the team added experience and at 6”8 he adds some more height at the guard position, Doug is a proven scorer who will be a valuable asset to the club this season” Quotes Head Coach Andreas Kapoulas.

Also joining Williams will be 6”9 Centre Davis Bowen, who like Williams was a part of Appalachian State University programe. Bowen has just graduated and this will be his first professional contract but he will bring some more size to the Flyers team as they look forward to the new season. “Davis is a big guy and brings the team some added size in the front court; he can play both power forward and Centre and he comes with some very good references and his game tapes show he will be a physical presence on the boards” Comments Kapoulas.

This will be a very exciting year for the Flyers as they look to push for silverware after 2 years of finishing in the top 4 of the division. Flyers have assembled an excellent squad ahead of the current season and although they have lost 4 players from last year the team for this season is possibly the strongest ever established.

Leaving the Flyers this year are Tyrone Treasure, Richard Loftman. Mak Sule and team Captain Gareth Till.

Loftman and Treasure have both left to study at American Universities on Basketball Scholarships. Mak Sule has left to attend the 22feet Academy in France which prepares players for American Universities and professional careers. Team Captain Gareth Till leaves the Senior men’s squad after a long career with the Flyers. Till who joined former Bristol team the Bombers in 2000 after a glittering career with the Plymouth Raiders also played for Team Bath and joined the first Flyers team when they moved to Filton College’s WISE campus in 2005. Till led the team to 2 successive promotions and has helped cement the Flyers as one of the country’s top teams. Till is not walking away completely as he will bring his experience to the Flyers II team in National League Division III helping to develop the young players in the Filton College Academy.

The Patchway Flyers basketball club starts on the 30th of September at Patchway community college. This club will be fully launching after the great success of last years session, coached by Head coach Jake Nash-Wilson. The sessions will be for boys and girls from as young as year 5 to year 11.

"This is one of our first Flyers satellite clubs and working in partnership with Pathway Community College. We will be offering a great environment for juniors to learn about the game, and be coached by qualified coaching staff and even the occasional special guest now and then."

Quote: Community Basketball Development officer Liam Anderson-Browne   

Session times

Wednesdays

Years 5,6,7 4:30 - 5:30

Years 8,9,10 5:30 - 7:00

Anyone wondering how good the Basketball program is at the Bristol Academy of Sport, and how it can lead to bigger things, should read on.

Earlier this year, Richard Loftman, who had been with the Flyers for a couple of years, left after being accepted into Chadron State College in Nebraska, where he will be playing for the Eagles. You can keep an eye on Richard’s progress by clicking here Chardon Eagles Basketball

More recently, Ibrahim Morakinyo Makai Sule signed into the 22ft Basketball Camp in France, where he will further develop his skills. The camp aims to help players of all levels, including those looking to turn pro, and is highly regarded in the Basketball World. For further info on 22ft, you can visit their site here 22ft Basketball .

Now we have been informed that following the departure of his brother at the end of last Season, the very talented Tyrone Treasure is also moving State Side. Ty has gained a scholarship at Panola College in Texas, home to the Ponies Basketball team. Panola’s website can be accessed by clicking on this link.  Ponies Basketball

It goes without saying that all three of these young players will be greatly missed at Flyers in many ways. Tyrone has been a big influence with the young players now working their way through the Development Centre, after many of them witnessed what he could do whilst watching the Flyers over the past few seasons. Richard was also seen suited up for the senior team on many occasions, but it was his leadership in the under 18’s that he will be remembered for, and his community work in and around Bristol, via the Hoops 4 Healthy Hearts program. Maki Sule also spent a lot of Saturday mornings coaching young players in the Development Centre and on the H4HH program, and is highly respected by these developing players, and the people he has worked and played with.

Unofficial Flyers wishes each of them the very best for the future, and hope that they all let us know how they are getting on from time to time. You will all be missed guys.

One of the Flyers young players has just returned from Belgium, after playing for the South West Regional team in the annual  Flanders tournament, held in the City of Ghent.

James Bradbury, was selected to be part of the team who managed to win 2 of their 5 matches, and only loosing by two points in their final game. James will be joined in the squad by fellow young Flyers, Daniel Rigby and Alex Bloomer when they take part in the regional tournament in Lillishall. We wish them all the best.

Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers and Filton College guard Tyrone Treasure departed from the UK to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to represent Great Britain in the Under 20’s European Championships.

Treasure 19 years of age and a 6”5 combo guard has been hugely influential in the Flyers two successful seasons in England Basketball’s Senior National League Division I team. After another outstanding year Tyrone was invited to join the Great Britain squad after trials in Birmingham. Since this time the squad has gradually been whittled down, travelling for the past month before the tournament with trips to Belgium as well as training camps and preparation games in the UK. Last weekend saw the squad play France twice after having just returned from playing Belgium earlier in the week.

Treasure was selected in the final 12 players and this morning flew out to FYROM for the tournament which sees’s Great Britain face Finland, Poland and Norway in the group stages with an opening game vs. Finland on the 16^th of July.

Tyrone has been influential for the Great Britain team in the preparation games as the first choice shooting guard in the games so far.

“Tyrone spoke to Flyers Senior coach Andreas Kapoulas today from the airport before boarding the plane to the European Championships. He has been on a whirlwind trip through Europe already in the last 3 weeks, with numerous games and International matches in build up to the final squad selection. Tyrone told us he had performed well and was starting for the Great Britain Team which is great. We are now going to be watching the team’s performance via the internet. Tyrone has outstanding athletic ability and this selection to the team is a true reflection of his ability. We are extremely proud of his achievements and look forward to following his performances on the European stage” Comments Danny James, Director of Basketball at Filton College.

For more information on the Bristol Academy Flyers Basketball club or Filton College Basketball Academy please contact danny.james@filton.ac.uk or telephone 01179312121.

Tyrone’s progress can be watched following this link to FIBA Europe’s website:

http://www.fibaeurope-u20men.com/enDivB/default.asp

Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers and Filton College Basketball Academy student Richard Loftman will be studying at Chadron State College, Nebraska, USA next year. Loftman has been awarded a full scholarship to study and play basketball at the NCAA Division II School.

18 year old Loftman who graduates from Filton College this summer after studying a BTEC National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science will leave for Nebraska in late August.

Richard has been a major contributing factor to the successful Flyers senior team playing  for the  Flyers Division I men’s team throughout this season helping to cement the Bristol team in England Basketballs top flight.

Richard’s game schedule next season will see him replace teams such as Sheffield and London with Wyoming State University, The University of Nebraska and the University of South Dakota to name just a few. He has achieved a basketball dream to play basketball and attend University in the home of the game in the USA. This is a huge achievement and is not just based on his basketball skills as the scholarship is also based on his academic ability.

Loftman a Milton Keynes native came to Filton College to combine his studies with the opportunity to develop his basketball skills 2 years ago. In his 2 years at the college he has constantly made improvements and developed as a player, for him to attend an American University is proof that sport and education mix extremely well and the opportunities that Filton College offer provide a platform for this.

“We are extremely proud of Richard’s achievements in his 2 years in the basketball academy; he has been a role model student on the court and in the classroom. His maturity and discipline have enabled Richard to achieve his dream which he thoroughly deserves. He has not only worked hard to improve as an individual but has also positively affected the lives of other young players with his work within our development centre and community schools projects. We wish Richard well in his new adventure and know that he will be a very positive member of the University both on and off of the court. We will keep in touch with Richard and will have regular updates on his progress on our websites” Quotes Danny James Director of Basketball.

Women’s Basketball Lands at Filton.

The Big Tall Order Bristol Academy Flyers were overjoyed when officials received good news from the sports governing body England Basketball that the application to have a Flyers Senior Women’s National League team playing in the National Women’s league next season has been accepted. Bristol Academy Flyers Women will take their place in National League Division II next year for their first season.

The club has worked for the past year in developing women’s basketball and are now in a position to try and mirror the hugely successful men’s and boys basketball programmes within its development centre at Filton College’s WISE campus. The club has seen a huge increase in the number of girls attending the development sessions on Saturday mornings and now due to such popular demand will start specific girl’s sessions for interested youngsters from the end of May.

The Flyers using their home at Filton College have benefited hugely from the insight that education and sport run hand in hand, and from the fantastic facilities at the college the community out reach programme, particularly in basketball, has seen the numbers of youngsters playing rocket beyond all expectations. Flyers have recently been joined by a well established Regional league team who now play under the name of Filton Thunder. Thunder bring with them the foundations from which the club can build and sustain this development, one of the regions best teams for many years Thunder feel that the move to become part of the Flyers club will lead to a needed growth  in women’s and particularly girls basketball in the area.

“We have already seen the numbers of girls playing basketball increase and although our current crop of girls are predominantly  under 14 years of age, we hope that by having a team to watch and one day aspire  to play  for will mirror  the men’s development and provide a catalyst to develop the sport further. The news from England Basketball really gives us as a club chance now to promote the team and women’s and girls basketball in our community; we as a club already work with the two local Universities which also adds a strong base to the move into National League. It will be a challenge and a new experience for all of us at the club but one which we see as very positive.” Quotes Danny James Flyers Director of Basketball.

Flyers will now look to promote opportunities for girls and women to get involved in basketball in the area and are now developing strong links with other local women’s clubs to help support the development further. Flyers will next season boast 36 teams playing under the clubs umbrella which is a phenomenal achievement for a club which started with just one team four years ago. The clubs hugely successful community outreach programme which has been supported by Filton College, South Gloucestershire County Council and a number of local businesses has seen the numbers of young players taking part in basketball activities boom.

“If you would have asked me four years ago where the club would be in 4 years time I would never have even dreamed we could have come this far. I am so proud of the work carried out by everybody working within the club, their efforts and the support we have received from all of our partners has enabled the Flyers to make a huge impact in the area. Who knows where we might be in 10 years time?” comments James.

Flyers Women’s Head Coach Bob Mason a well respected level III coach is looking for potential players to join the women’s team and can be contacted via Danny James. (Details below)

Flyers are also looking for any interested girls who want to play basketball to join the development centre and gain from the fantastic opportunities available in playing basketball. No experience is necessary just a will to have fun and enjoy playing this exciting sport.

For further information on basketball contact Danny James, Email: danny.james@filton.ac.uk or telephone 07747487914.

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