The accomplishments of a “great, great year” were reviewed as members of the H. J. Cody Lakers football squad gathered to celebrate their achievements and honour some of the top players last Wednesday.
Each of the players was presented with bronze medals earned in provincial play as Coach Jeremy Braitenback talked about the past season. With ten teams in the league, the Lakers finished second. “For one of the smallest schools that’s an accomplishment,” he said.
Then going into provincial play as underdogs they overcame and challenged Ardrossan for the final.
“Football is a real team sport,” said Braitenback, noting the banquet was to celebrate the team and several outstanding individuals.
Following a delicious roast beef dinner catered by Blondies, it was time to present awards.
Assistant Coach Jas Payne said their plan is to “build our team around our players instead of having players fit into our system.” Winner of the rookie of the year award was Chase Elwood, a player he sees them doing a lot of building around. Elwood was also chosen as the Central Alberta league’s rookie of the year. Braitenback added the race was close for this award with Dylan Keller in second.
Kyle Eckenswiller was named most improved player. Again Payne said selecting the winner was “really difficult”. The winner was the “one player when we thought who do we rely on play in and play out”.
The Lakers have a tradition of having amazing linemen, said Braitenback before announcing Bradyn Marchesi as lineman of the year. “It’s not because we have the biggest, fastest, it’s the heart they put into it. If you have the desire to play, desire to be a good person that comes through in your play.” Also in the running was TJ Sloboda, but he was out with an injury for a lot of the season.
Assistant Coach Jeremy Martins presented the team leadership award to Trent Kondor. “Leadership is important on any team,” he said. “In football it’s really important.” The award was presented to the player that’s in there day in and day out. “He never let us down, he was just a great player for us É Attitude reflects leadership. One of the things we had was great attitude and one of the players who contributed to that was Trent Kondor.”
Sulley Larocque was named defensive player of the year by Braitenback. “We had a lot of good players to choose from this year,” he said. Larocque dedicated to improving himself as a player, he played midget football and was an anchor on defence. He made more tackles than anyone else on the team.
The Jeff Halvorson Memorial Award was presented to TJ Sloboda. The award is not just representative of a player’s ability on the field. It’s given to someone who represents the entire part of being a human being. Not just his ability as a player but as a citizen. Payne, in presenting the award, said Sloboda was “one of the best football players I’ve ever had the blessing of being around, one of the best students I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around. Academically gifted, he has an incredible future. He’s off to play university football and take engineering. He will be one of those lights years down the road, when you think of Lakers football, you will think of him. A talented actor, amazing musician, he’s the ultimate Laker.”
A player he’s coached for a number of years and watched grow from a young man into an amazing football player was named offensive player of the year by Martens. Landon Rosene also won the offensive player of the year award from the Central Alberta league. “He always had the ball, was scoring touchdowns, gaining yards, he won the rushing title.” Martens said Rosene is a “pleasure to coach” and they’re looking forward to what he can do next season.
Most valuable player honours went to Josh Barrie. Braitenback said he played offense, blocking, catching the ball, on defence, catching pass interceptions, on special teams. “We just had to have him on the field. He made everyone around him good, he was dedicated in practice. To young players he was someone to look up to — this is how you practice, this is how you play.”
Pam and Mike Marchesi were recognized for all they’ve contributed to football in Sylvan Lake as they retire from their involvement.
Presented gifts were trainers Kaylee Campbell and Rebecca Lieng.
The audience also applauded coaches Jeremy Braitenback and Rick Dunnigan.
“Winning football games is great,” said Payne. “Having fun and enjoying the camaraderie just makes it so much better,” he concluded.
Coaching staff from the Vancouver Island Raiders in Nanaimo will be visiting H. J. Cody later this month on a recruiting trip. And spring camp is not that far away.