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Bristol Apache are a British American football team based in Bristol, England, at the SGS WISE sports academy of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Bristol, which is also the base for a number of other sports teams such as Bristol Academy woman's soccer team.

Overview
Bristol Apache were formed in 2009 by the Bristol Aztecs to serve as a development team. The Aztecs had progressed to the ranks of the Premier Division for the 2007 season and it quickly became apparent that there was a need for an intermediate step between the successful Youth, UWE Bullets and Bristol Barracuda University teams and the senior team. Apache had their first training session on… and played their first fixtures against other teams in April 2010.

Team Colours
Reflecting the close relationship with Bristol Aztecs, Apache retain the same ‘Feathered A’ decal on black helmets and use the senior teams trim colour of orange as their main jersey colour. After playing 3 seasons in K.Noah jerseys with black numbers, the team switched to a new kit made by Alpha Performance with a lighter shade of orange with white trim and numbers. This followed the Aztecs change the previous year to grey shirts by the same manufacturer.

History
The team formed in 2009 and were initially coached by Damon Kirby. By early 2010, Filton Pride and Aztecs Youth head coach Ben Herod had taken over and the team were making their first steps into competitive football and the associate process intended to end with them playing in the league. Their first action was at Llanharan RFC, home of South Wales Warriors, in a 3-way event also involving Gloucester Banshees. The experienced Warriors overcame a spirited young Apache side 30-0 in the half-hour game who then stepped back to watch Gloucester play for 30 minutes. South Wales won that game comfortably before the match between Banshees and Apache finished 10-8 in favour of the new team courtesy of a late field goal and then 3 successive sacks and a blocked FG attempt to preserve the lead for Apache. Heading home in high spirits, Apache were confident of the coming challenges. Practice scrimmages against the Bullets and 2 against fellow associate side Bournemouth Bobcats were the next pieces of the puzzle. Having brought the objective of league football closer Ben Herod stepped aside to focus on the Youth and Pride sides and former Aztec DB Phil Fear took over the reins. Having led them through the 2 associate fixtures, again with Bournemouth, Apache were deemed ready to join the League in 2011.

Life in the National Leagues began perfectly for Apache, winning their opening fixtures against fellow newcomers Bournemouth Bobcats and then away to Gloucester Banshees. The rest of the season proved a struggle for the young side with a tied game on the final day at home to Gloucester the only other game in which they avoided defeat. 2012 proved even tougher as the team finished 0-8, with 2 games cancelled and awarded as ties. Performances improved at the back end of the season but a misfiring offence was unable to do enough to take a win. Coach Fear left the team at the end of the season to focus on life outside of football, with the reigns passing to former GB and Aztec O-Lineman Peter Jones, who had previous coaching experience with the Aztecs and UWE Bullets.

2013 proved a breakout year for Apache. With several talented rookies coming through and a number of veteran players joining the team went 8-2, the defeats coming at a resurgent Gloucester and at home to eventual division champions Solent Thrashers. Apache beat Gloucester to 2nd in the division and a place in the playoffs on a tiebreaker, winning at home 37-12 having lost 30-18 in their first meeting. A first trip to the post season was ended abruptly by Colchester Gladiators, who went unbeaten for the year in winning the division and securing promotion. The following season saw a new philosophy implemented across Bristol Football, with a new look hurry-up offence and a bigger emphasis on passing. The first test of the scheme was a pre-season scrimmage against Oxford Saints, now of National Central, which resulted in a convincing win for Apache. The season that followed was one of ups and downs, a narrow win against Gloucester followed by successive defeats to Solent, Swindon and Farnham Knights. The team rebounded spectacularly against a rookie Portsmouth side in running up a 99-point margin of victory that gave them much needed momentum that saw them win 4 in a row. Another defeat at the hands of a dominant Solent side was not unexpected but Apache at least finished on a high with another win over rivals Gloucester to end 6-4. Following those 2 successful years and having taken a team that had been 2-15-3 to 14-7 across the two years, Coach Jones returned to the Aztecs to run their offence. In his place, founder Apache and veteran Linebacker Adam Davies was appointed Head Coach, with Richard Lindsay and Matt Dyke remaining as Defensive and Offensive Coordinators respectively. Another realignment of British American Football has seen the reinstatement of 3 tiers, with Apache unsurprisingly placed in Division 2 West alongside long-time rivals Cornish Sharks and Gloucester Centurions, with Swindon Storm, Oxford Saints and Torbay Trojans also in the division. Gloucester unfortunately withdrew on the eve of the 2015 season, the lateness of the decision leaving no time for a re-scheduling and only 8 games in which to make an impact.