The Sylvan Lake Bears deservedly lifted the Football Alberta Peewee Tier III Provincial Championship trophy after shutting out the Bonnyville Renegades 64-0 in Sylvan Lake on Saturday.
“It’s very exciting,” said head coach Garnet Rambaut. “First winning the league championship the weekend before — that was a big accomplishment, because we’ve only won the league championship one other time and that was in 2006. Winning it again this year was excellent. We just improved steadily with every game.”
The Bears proved their defensive prowess by shutting out their opponents for the seventh game in a row. That feat was the result of hard work put in both before and during the season, said Rambaut.
“We’re a very good football team — I’ve got very good coaches and we work on the basics during our training camps, and we practice them hard.”
Rambaut said his players are conditioned very well. That’s something he feels can make all the difference at this time of year, and with games being played regularly.
“The ground gets harder and it gets to be a real challenge,” he said, lauding his players for their commitment throughout the season.
“To play a game where you know you’re going to be hurt takes a lot of courage, and these guys have a lot of courage,” he said. “These are tremendous life lessons that they are learning as far as being a member of a team and showing commitment to the team and accepting responsibility for their actions.
“All of those things are life-building skills, and our coaches, managers and trainers have done a very good job of helping these people along.”
Most of the Bears have at least another four years of football ahead of them, he added. He feels their victory this year, however, won’t be forgotten any time soon.
“These are lifetime experiences for them that they will never forget,” he said.