Aug. 13, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Jason Scott may be the most successful college football coach you've never heard of, and he's visiting College Park all this week to learn how the Maryland football team conducts practice.

It may seem strange that a coach who has yet to lose a regular-season game in two seasons on the job would need an education in coaching, but Scott is not your typical college coach. He's the boss of the Loughborough Aces of the British Collegiate American Football League (BCAFL), and he's using his vacation time to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and observe Terrapin training camp.

"It's my pet project," said Scott, 28, who has sported an Aces shirt and red Terps hat all week at practice. "In the U.K., because it's such a young sport, there's only so much coaching you can get. I've come over here to get some coaching for myself. I want to see how the coaches interact with the players and run practice."

In order to get on the field, Scott contacted Dan Hickson, Maryland's director of football operations, back in March. While Hickson admits it doesn't really help the Terps that much, inviting the British footballers to camp is certainly good for the sport. "It benefits football," Hickson said. "I was surprised to learn there were 40 universities playing American football in Britain. I was shocked."

The Aces are widely considered to be the most successful team in BCAFL history, having won three championships, six conference championships, and 12 division titles with 16 playoff appearances. They were the first of the 39 teams in league history to 100 wins, and they have experienced only two losing seasons in their 19 year history.

Still, there is always room for improvement. "One thing I'll definitely take back is the attention to detail. We need to really polish things up. We need to stop being simply a good team, and become a great team," said Scott, whose Aces fell 31-14 to the Bristol Bullets in the College Bowl championship game last year.

In that endeavor, Scott has dragged along his brother Ted, who plays fullback and defensive line for the Aces, and his new starting quarterback, John Pimperton, a 21-year-old fine art major at Loughborough University.

The talent and interest in the sport in Britain are nowhere near the level they are here, but American football is growing quickly in popularity according to, and possibly because of, Scott. "For me it's a three-pronged attack. I want to develop the sport in the U.K., develop the players as people, and develop their talents."

American football is growing in participation at a rate of 16 percent a year, the fastest rate in the country. This season the NFL will make its mark in Britain, with a regular-season game between the Giants and Dolphins scheduled for Oct. 28 in London's Wembley Stadium. All three of these British football enthusiasts already have their tickets.

Still it can be hard to recruit the best athletes for a British collegiate team. "Every year we'll recruit people who have played Madden, seen the Super Bowl or dropped off the rugby team, even if they've never played before," said Scott, who works near Loughborough at Darby College, and is currently working on his masters in coaching. "Football is a way of life here, whereas for me and my players it's a pastime."

After watching Terrapin defensive line coach Dave Sollazo run up and down the field screaming with his trademark flair, Scott has concluded that he certainly isn't mean enough. Whatever his approach, he has a 15-0-1 regular-season record to prove it works.

"[Our trip] has been phenomenal. Everyone's really friendly, and we've been made to feel right at home," Scott said, who is already planning a return trip to College Park in the spring, to see the Red-White Spring Game. "Some professional British teams would be put to shame by the level of the facilities and coaching you have here. We're extremely grateful and we've really benefited as well."

Notes: Check out the Loughborough Aces on the web. Their home page is loughboroughaces.co.uk, and they have their own facebook group as well.