142 and getting better all the time!
A big shout-out to our soldiers abroad! Thanks!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
I Want My...I Want My...I Want My DSVeeeeeee
Hey Gang,
Remember that 80's Classic by Dire Straights: Money For Nothing?? Well boys and girls, if you are unfamiliar here is the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po1TsgvOoOY
The opening was great, with lead singer hitting some cool notes to the effect of " I want my...I want my....I want my MTV." This song ripped up the charts pretty hard and earned status as a classic. Well in the spirit of another 80's phenom (perhaps not so classic) Weird Al Yancovic, I think we could swap around some lyrics to the effect of " I Want My DSVeeeee"
You see, we will all be paying for this technology again this year as a part of our dues and if we all participate as expected, we will take a powerful leap forward in terms of the quality of our games as a result of our much more thorough preparation. See gang, technology is a force-multiplyer and in this instance, DSV has the potential to radically advance our regional game beyond what we clearly see which is scout. There are going to be huge benefits for our players, for our game to be advertised and much, much more.
Sadly, I am not encouraged by what I see thus far.
It starts with BCSSFA executive: Deadlines were issued for the membership to get on board and penalties decreed that fell just short of non-compliers being sent to forced labour and re-education camps in the Muskeg country of northeastern BC. Camps that would make the North Koreans blush. These edicts were passionately decreed by our elected governing body.
The date for uploading everyone's spring video or the last video from 08 season and making it available to all varsity coaches was 22 June.
Upon glancing at DSV anywhere this AM it was great to see Hansen and Barsby have complied.
Some of our executive are HC's/co-HC's of programs and they also include conference and tier reps. Hmmmmm, not setting much of an example fellas. This is akin to an officer rallying his soldiers prior to an attack with " the objective is critical to our success! We must take it with a frontal assault....Men, I will be right behind you all the way." Ah yes, you can feel private Joe Snuffie's enthusiasm drain as his"brave leadership" eggs him m on from behind instead of in front. It is supposed to be "Follow Me" not "in front of me". Gentlemen, do not publish declarations that you are not prepared to fully participate in yourselves...you squander much needed legitimacy that you need to get the overall job done.
Next up for a quick spanking are the long-term coaches and leaders of programs. You guys know better. Do you accept excuses and non-participation from your players?? We voted for this thing...we better step up guys. Deadlines are important. We all have a common, collective stake in participating.
Newbies, you are not excused either. Get with Victor at DSV and ask for help. You will get it. You will get none if you don't take some personal initiative and chase it down. You will find that late August and September are the worst possible times imagineable to try to get caught-up.
If we don't as a group get on the stick with DSV it will be more than money going down the toilet, it will be opportunity. Opportunity lost now is exponential underachievement later.
I want my DSVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Turning Point
My-oh-my has HS Football grown in the past decade and change. There was a period of five years or so in the latter half of the 90's where BC HS Football began to morph into its present structure. We began to change from Lower Mainland-Interior to LM-Interior-Island and laid down a base to add Interior AAA ball as well. After reaching a critical mass, we have now gone truly provincial with teams in Prince George, Cranbrook, Quesnel, and Vanderhoof. There are a few voids to fill in Greater Victoria, Williams Lake, Hundred Mile House and the Peace River and I am sure this will happen over the next ten years if not less. We now also have a third tier in the shape of Tier 2 Varsity. My crystal ball shows me an expanded AA varsity league in the coming years. I think AAA will be pretty stable in terms of numbers based on the limited numbers of large public schools and private schools. This is all assuming that we don't go to a three tier system based on school size. We are getting close to that critical mass. Me thinks it would work with a 4th "Tier 2" group still attached. Another discussion I suppose.
Back to the turning point years:
I dug up a few old championship gameday programs and reviewed the numbers this week. I cannot find the 1996 Program which is why that year is absent. Ninety-Six was a crucial year as that is when the Island broke into the mix with Mt. Douglas and John Barsby joining AA Ball. Folks newer to BC HS Football will take note that there are a few programs that are no longer in existence today as well. During the late 90's and early part of this decade BC went to smaller schools as opposed to larger ones and this meant that some programs died or calved into smaller buildings. All in all, this period of years sowed the seeds of the conferences and regional alignments that we see today. There was also the big experiment of bringing up some of the more successful small public schools to AAA ball for awhile in the period 1999-2001. It became clear at the end of this experience that they could compete til the early rounds of the playoffs and then the big schools with their legions of horses just wore em out. This is something to not forget as we head into more growth and change provincially late in this decade and early in the next.
1995
AA Varsity (what we now call AAA) (14 Teams)
North Delta, Carson Graham, St, Thomas More, Notre Dame, Abbottsford,Terry Fox, Handsworth, Steveston
Vancouver College, Richmond, Mouat, Holy Cross. Centennial, Kamloops, West Vancouver, Port Moody
A Varsity (what we now call AA) (13 Teams)
Windsor, John Oliver, Sentinel, South Delta, Seaquam, Delta
Burnaby Central, Frank Hurt, Norkam, Westsyde, Brocklehurst, Rick Hansen, Aldergrove
1997
AAA Varsity (15 Teams)
Notre Dame, Carson Graham, STM, Terry Fox, North Delta, Burnaby Central, Abbottsford
Van College, Holy Cross, Mouat, Richmond, Centennial, Port Moody, Kamloops, West Vancouver
AA Varsity (22 Teams)
Handsworth, Windsor, Sentinel, John Oliver, John Barsby, Aldergrove, Pinetree
Westsyde, Kamloops, Vernon, Fulton, Kalamalka, Brocklehurst, Norkam, John Peterson
Hugh Boyd, R.C. Palmer, Mt. Douglas, S. Delta, Delta, Seaquam, Frank Hurt
1998
AAA Varsity (12 Teams)
Centennial, Holy Cross, John Oliver, WJ Mouat, Richmond, Vancouver College, West Vancouver
Burnaby Central, Carson Graham, North Delta, STM, Notre Dame, Terry Fox
AA Varsity (19 Teams)
John Peterson, Vernon, Kalmalka, Fulton, NorKam,Westsyde
Sentinel, Windsor, Handsworth, Pinetree, Rick Hansen, John Barsby, Timberline
South Delta, Seaquam, Hugh Boyd, Delta, Mt. Douglas, R.C. Palmer
1999
AAA Varsity (20 Teams)
Handsworth, Notre Dame, Carson Graham, Windsor, West Vancouver
W.J. Mouat, North Delta, Holy Cross, Rick Hansen, Burnaby Central
STM, Pinetree, Terry Fox, Centennial, John Oliver
Van College, Richmond, South Delta, Hugh Boyd, Mt. Douglas
AA Varsity (13 Teams)
Abbottsford, John Barsby, Delta, Seaquam, Sentinel, Frank Hurt, Timberline, Clarence Fulton, John Peterson, Kamloops, Norkam, Vernon, Westsyde
2000
AAA Varsity (19 Teams)
Carson Graham, Windsor, Notre Dame, Handsworth, West Vancouver
W.J. Mouat, North Delta, Holy Cross, Rick Hansen, Burnaby Central
STM, Terry Fox, Centennial, Pinetree
S. Delta, Vancouver College, Hugh Boyd, Mt. Douglas, Richmond
AA Varsity (20 Teams)
John Oliver, Frank Hurt, Seaquam, Abbottsford, Port Moody, RC Palmer,
John Barsby, Timberline, Delta, Ballenas, Sentinel
John Peterson, Kamloops, Clarence Fulton, Westsyde, Salmon Arm, W.L. Seaton, Vernon
Kalmalka, Norkam
Back to the turning point years:
I dug up a few old championship gameday programs and reviewed the numbers this week. I cannot find the 1996 Program which is why that year is absent. Ninety-Six was a crucial year as that is when the Island broke into the mix with Mt. Douglas and John Barsby joining AA Ball. Folks newer to BC HS Football will take note that there are a few programs that are no longer in existence today as well. During the late 90's and early part of this decade BC went to smaller schools as opposed to larger ones and this meant that some programs died or calved into smaller buildings. All in all, this period of years sowed the seeds of the conferences and regional alignments that we see today. There was also the big experiment of bringing up some of the more successful small public schools to AAA ball for awhile in the period 1999-2001. It became clear at the end of this experience that they could compete til the early rounds of the playoffs and then the big schools with their legions of horses just wore em out. This is something to not forget as we head into more growth and change provincially late in this decade and early in the next.
1995
AA Varsity (what we now call AAA) (14 Teams)
North Delta, Carson Graham, St, Thomas More, Notre Dame, Abbottsford,Terry Fox, Handsworth, Steveston
Vancouver College, Richmond, Mouat, Holy Cross. Centennial, Kamloops, West Vancouver, Port Moody
A Varsity (what we now call AA) (13 Teams)
Windsor, John Oliver, Sentinel, South Delta, Seaquam, Delta
Burnaby Central, Frank Hurt, Norkam, Westsyde, Brocklehurst, Rick Hansen, Aldergrove
1997
AAA Varsity (15 Teams)
Notre Dame, Carson Graham, STM, Terry Fox, North Delta, Burnaby Central, Abbottsford
Van College, Holy Cross, Mouat, Richmond, Centennial, Port Moody, Kamloops, West Vancouver
AA Varsity (22 Teams)
Handsworth, Windsor, Sentinel, John Oliver, John Barsby, Aldergrove, Pinetree
Westsyde, Kamloops, Vernon, Fulton, Kalamalka, Brocklehurst, Norkam, John Peterson
Hugh Boyd, R.C. Palmer, Mt. Douglas, S. Delta, Delta, Seaquam, Frank Hurt
1998
AAA Varsity (12 Teams)
Centennial, Holy Cross, John Oliver, WJ Mouat, Richmond, Vancouver College, West Vancouver
Burnaby Central, Carson Graham, North Delta, STM, Notre Dame, Terry Fox
AA Varsity (19 Teams)
John Peterson, Vernon, Kalmalka, Fulton, NorKam,Westsyde
Sentinel, Windsor, Handsworth, Pinetree, Rick Hansen, John Barsby, Timberline
South Delta, Seaquam, Hugh Boyd, Delta, Mt. Douglas, R.C. Palmer
1999
AAA Varsity (20 Teams)
Handsworth, Notre Dame, Carson Graham, Windsor, West Vancouver
W.J. Mouat, North Delta, Holy Cross, Rick Hansen, Burnaby Central
STM, Pinetree, Terry Fox, Centennial, John Oliver
Van College, Richmond, South Delta, Hugh Boyd, Mt. Douglas
AA Varsity (13 Teams)
Abbottsford, John Barsby, Delta, Seaquam, Sentinel, Frank Hurt, Timberline, Clarence Fulton, John Peterson, Kamloops, Norkam, Vernon, Westsyde
2000
AAA Varsity (19 Teams)
Carson Graham, Windsor, Notre Dame, Handsworth, West Vancouver
W.J. Mouat, North Delta, Holy Cross, Rick Hansen, Burnaby Central
STM, Terry Fox, Centennial, Pinetree
S. Delta, Vancouver College, Hugh Boyd, Mt. Douglas, Richmond
AA Varsity (20 Teams)
John Oliver, Frank Hurt, Seaquam, Abbottsford, Port Moody, RC Palmer,
John Barsby, Timberline, Delta, Ballenas, Sentinel
John Peterson, Kamloops, Clarence Fulton, Westsyde, Salmon Arm, W.L. Seaton, Vernon
Kalmalka, Norkam
Thursday, May 28, 2009
On The Eve of Battle
At this writing, 30 hrs. til the first snap of the 2009 AA Jamboree. Players seemed restless and ready to go at practice yesterday afternoon. Team and individual photos today after school, final instructions re: hydration, itinerary, transpo and signals. A good night's sleep and lets close with our opponents tomorrow.
Similar feel to the eve of the clash between 7th Cav. and NVA in Ia Drang Valley...We Were Soldiers Once and Young. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00pOrjzMASA
Monday, May 25, 2009
Nanaimo District HS Blog
Your Blog is Pro!!
Take their lead folks! Players, ask your coach to get something up soon and we will link it to the AA Network!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Island Tier 2 Jamboree
Three teams today: Nanaimo District, Mark Isfeld and Gulf Islands.
The football was a lot better than I anticipated heading into the event. All three teams executed pretty darn good offensively, particularly Gulf Islands and Nanaimo District. Isfeld played some very good defense in their first game vs Nanaimo District and had a beautiful 90 yard drive for the winning score. Nanaimo District was very crisp offensively ripping big gashes in opposing defenses up front but could not finish drives with costly penalties followed by inopportune fumbles. The Nanaimo defense didn't allow a completion today and a very youthful group of second and third level players defensively filled vs the run admirably. Isfeld was physical on defense.
The class of the group however was Gulf Islands. They played nasty on both sides of the ball and have break away speed in all of their back-field and wing postions. Gulf Island numbers looked good in terms of bodies and boy oh boy could they bring it defensively. Many, many great hits. I think they are a reflection of their ol ball coach. He is a throwback and a tough nut who brings out the love of the game at a visceral level. During their second game vs Isfeld the Scorpions kept feeding off of the physical play and they got tougher and tougher with every dust-up. I have to credit Isfeld's QB and their RB/ILB's, they are good players.
Nanaimo District and Isfeld have BIG upsides headed into Fall Ball. As a very interested observer of BC High School Football I am more than ever a believer in the organization of varsity ball into three tiers. That was competitive ball today!!
Well Done!
The football was a lot better than I anticipated heading into the event. All three teams executed pretty darn good offensively, particularly Gulf Islands and Nanaimo District. Isfeld played some very good defense in their first game vs Nanaimo District and had a beautiful 90 yard drive for the winning score. Nanaimo District was very crisp offensively ripping big gashes in opposing defenses up front but could not finish drives with costly penalties followed by inopportune fumbles. The Nanaimo defense didn't allow a completion today and a very youthful group of second and third level players defensively filled vs the run admirably. Isfeld was physical on defense.
The class of the group however was Gulf Islands. They played nasty on both sides of the ball and have break away speed in all of their back-field and wing postions. Gulf Island numbers looked good in terms of bodies and boy oh boy could they bring it defensively. Many, many great hits. I think they are a reflection of their ol ball coach. He is a throwback and a tough nut who brings out the love of the game at a visceral level. During their second game vs Isfeld the Scorpions kept feeding off of the physical play and they got tougher and tougher with every dust-up. I have to credit Isfeld's QB and their RB/ILB's, they are good players.
Nanaimo District and Isfeld have BIG upsides headed into Fall Ball. As a very interested observer of BC High School Football I am more than ever a believer in the organization of varsity ball into three tiers. That was competitive ball today!!
Well Done!
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