The Peewee Bears football team celebrated another successful season during its awards and recognition banquet at the Alliance Community Church last Thursday.
With the team having won both league and provincial championships, there was plenty to celebrate throughout the evening.
Coach Garnet Rambaut presented the team’s awards and commended his players on their strength and growth shown throughout the season. Award recipients were chosen only after much thought and contemplation, he said.
“Every one of those awards was representative of our coaches and of the players themselves,” he said. “Every one of the award winners is extremely deserving. They are all so important and they all did their jobs extremely well.”
Rambaut said players worked hard throughout the season both physically and mentally, with some having had to adapt to playing two or more positions. With practice, that’s something they were able to accomplish.
“The skill set for each position is very specific,” he said. “We practice them hard, we break things down into the smallest step and then we build them up into the big steps. Then we practice it over and over and over, and that’s how you get good at what you do.”
Rambaut said the biggest lesson his players learned throughout the season is how to play together as a team. That, he feels, played a major role in their success.
“You have 12 players on the football field at a time in order to be successful,” he said. “It doesn’t take one — everybody has to do their job.”
The Bears shutout their opponents in seven of the nine games they played throughout the season.
Such consistency, Rambaut feels, isn’t down to luck.
“You only get out what you put into it — it has to be a 100 per cent effort either way,” he said.
About half of the Lions’ 26-player roster will move on to the Bantam Lions next year, while some new players will come up from the Atom Tigers.
“I hope to work with these guys, build their skills and character and enjoy the game of football,” said Rambaut. “That’s the most you can ever hope for.”