Following a frustrating season last year, Lincoln’s American Football team have high hopes of success once this year’s campaign begins, says club president Luke Craner.

Lincoln’s American Football team are in training before the start of the new season. Photo: University of Lincoln Students’ Union.

After losing around 80% of their experienced players to graduation, the Lincoln Colonials faced a season of disappointing losses, eventually finishing the year bottom of the table.

Results such as a 70-0 loss to the University of Worcester in the year’s final game, and a 74-0 loss to Coventry University the week before this, sets a picture for the turbulent season the club faced.

Luke Craner, the new president of Lincoln’s American Football Society, said that due to this, the team spent last year “having fun and using the games as a learning experience.”

However, the team is expecting to play a more competitive role in the league this time around, with preparations already underway to kick off the season on a positive note.

After a number of trials at the start of the year, around 60 incoming players will join 30 experienced ones for their drive to a higher place finish.

Craner said the club hopes the new players that have signed up will give the team “a wealth of talent we can put forward to play”.

He added that the players, new and old, have been “training hard and playing smart” in the run-up to the first game of their season.

The club will play a tie against The University of Chester on November 18th, before facing Manchester Metropolitan University on December 2nd.