2003

The current incarnation of the Thunder Juniors started back at the Senior Rookie Day in February 2003. Four junior players showed up at the rookie day and enjoyed themselves greatly, mixing in with the seniors in the drills and measureables. At the end of the day the seniors, being short of coaching staff for the juniors, asked one of the dads present, Coach Pete Neale, is he would consider coaching the junior team that year. Coach Neale had two great advantages over the parents of the other juniors; he was there, and he was American so he actually knew the rules and how to throw the ball. Coach Neale agreed, at least to the extent of seeing how things went.

In the Spring and Summer of 2003, the junior team was more theoretical than actual. Without the necessary five players to enter competitions, two of the four juniors soon left, leaving only Dana Neale and Ryan Cameron to carry on. Dana and Ryan had loads of enthusiasm though, and week after week they turned up to train even though there wasn't really a team to train with. They both tried to convince their friends to come and try the game, and some came, and some went, but by the Autumn there were five or six more or less regular players, and the Thunder Juniors were ready for their first competition.

The early competitive competitions for the Thunder Juniors were learning experiences more than anything else. Inexperience in game situations combined with being at the bottom of the age group range (meaning all the other teams were bigger, stringer and faster) meant that although they enjoyed themselves greatly, the Juniors were a long way off winning anything.

2004

This pattern continued throughout the first half of 2004. The juniors attended a couple of BYAFA tournaments, the Channel 5 Trophy tournament where they got completely decimated by everyone, and a selection of NFL tournaments. Gradually they began to win the occasional game, and they steadily improved from game to game. But the lack of success and the extensive travelling involved took it's toll on many of the players, and the roster was always changing.

Then late in the summer of 2004, with the CH Summerbowl coming up, once again the Thunder found themselves down to two players. Coach Neale was about to withdraw from the tournament when he spotted three kids throwing an American football in the park outside his house. Coach Neale approached them, and finding he knew two of them from his son's soccer team, asked if they'd like to try the game competitively. They agreed, and so it was a team composed of 60% rookies which showed up in Horsham for the Summerbowl. The new players proved to be a trio of excellent recruits, and although their training consisted of half an hour of going over the rules before the tournament, the team won all their games and their first trophy!

The new roster of Dana Neale, Alex Cobb, George Overhill, Joe Bailey and Steven Dixon went from strength to strength. Over the next months they attended 7 tournaments, winning 5 of them and losing the other 2 in the finals. It seemed that almost nothing could stop them. Undoubtedly their greatest win was the Channel 5 Trophy in November 2004. Having been thoroughly routed in every game the previous year, Coach Neale was prepared for the worst, but the worst didn't happen. The juniors won all of their group games, and in the final against the Scottish champions, the Carluke Predators, they commanded the game from start to finish. The final 37-6 score line showed just how far they had come in a few short months.

2005

The success of the Thunder in 2004 showed itself when rookie day came round in 2005. From 6 players, the squad now numbered 15, and by the end of the season it would be up to 18. George, Joe and Steve had to move up to the Youth Flag age group, but with the new rookies there was enough to field flag teams in both age groups, as well as a Junior Kitted team using equipment borrowed from the senior team.

The 2005 season was a great success. In Flag, the junior team dominated the league throughout the season, and took first place in the league. The Youth team had problems fielding a full team. Aside from the first half of the first game of the first tournament, injury, holidays and school committments meant that the team was playing a man down for the whole season. Even so, they managed to achieve 3rd place in the league, so both teams were all set for the National Championships in July.

The Championships did not go according to plan though. The youth team, again with only four players, managed a respectable 3rd place. The junior team though, massive favourites from their past performances that season, found themselves plagued by injury. Bill Burton, a key receiver, had broken his collar bone two weeks earlier at the Cardiff tournament. Still the juniors probably could have won, had not receiver Fred Stanley broken his ankle during the semi final game. Now down to four players as well, the juniors fought bravely, coming from behind to draw the semi final against South Wales Rebellion, forcing the first sudden death overtime game in BYAFA Championship history. Thunder had the ball first, but being a man down told in the end, and South Wales triumphed. The 3rd place play off game against South Wales was sportingly played 4 on 4, and both teams scored almost every play. The final score of 53-60 to Leicester remains the juniors highest scoring game by a long way.

The Junior Kitted season was also remarkable. The first tournament was a eye-opener for the team. One player said before the kickoff, "I didn't think they be so big", and after he came off at the end of the first drive, "I didn't think they'd hit so hard". Although the juniors almost won one of their games, it all went bad when QB Dana Neale was injured, and the result of the first tournament was 0 wins - 3 losses. So the team went back, and trained hard. And trained hard. And trained hard.

The remaining tournaments showed how well they had done. Although they never managed to beat the Milton Keynes Pathfinders during the season, they won every other game they played, and in doing so moved from bottom of the league up to second place, clinching their playoff spot in the very last tournament of the season. Unfortunately, the playoffs were held in August and half the team and the coach were on holiday, so the team was unable to attend. Still, the team's achievement in making the playoffs after such a shaky start was something to be proud of.

There remained one final event in 2005 which the team was determined to win - the Channel 5 Trophy. No team had ever won it twice, but confidence was so high that Coach Neale even told the NFL to go ahead and put their names on the trophy again in advance. And the confidence was not misplaced. The group games proved quite easy, and the Thunder convincingly won the final against the Inverness Rockets to retain the title - the only team ever to do so!

2006

So now the 2006 season approaches. With almost all of the previous year's players returning, all three junior teams are hoping to win the championships this year. A lottery grant from Awards For All means the team now has their own kit and doesn't have to rely on borrowing the seniors, and everything is looking good for the new season...