The provincial champion Columbia Valley Bighorns football team is gearing up for a new season of fall football and for your chance to join the championship team, come out to Bighorns Field in Invermere on June 9, starting at 10 a.m.
This will be the Bighorns’ sixth season and head coach Bruce Marlow says that registration day is a great chance for parents who are curious about the game to have all their questions answered.
“It’s a good time for kids to realize that you don’t have to have played before, you just have to have the willingness to play,” Marlow said. “It’s really to simplify the whole process, so kids can see ‘I get the same as everyone else, and I get the same equipment as everyone else.’”
“And in our community, no one really gets cut from the football team unless you’re a punk, or you just have a really bad attitude.”
There will be equipment at the field during registration so that interested kids can get a feel for it, and Marlow will talk to everyone about the game and how he sees the upcoming season unfolding. The registration will also end with a family barbecue, which doubles as a great meet-and-greet for everyone involved. Again, Marlow stresses that kids don’t need to have any football experience, just a willingness to learn.
“We just want kids who want to learn the game,” Marlow said. “If a kid wants to learn, I know I can teach him the game.”
For those kids that do register, Marlow has some incredible activities lined up this season. Most notably, he plans to begin fundraising soon for an all-expenses paid trip for the team to travel to San Diego in October to play against a team from Mexico. Marlow said he’s been trying to organize the trip for a couple of years, and he’s excited to be able to take kids who may never have before left B.C. on a trip. He’d also like to take the team to Disneyland, and is trying to organize for them to be able to watch a college football practice at one of the major schools in the area.
“It’s all about the experience,” Marlow said. “Obviously I’m a competitive guy, and losing is not my goal, but if you can get 25 kids together and they can all have fun, that’s fun for me.”
Registration is $100 and players are provided with all the necessary equipment. The regular season begins in September with an August training camp. Marlow is also looking for a couple of coaches to join him on the sideline for the upcoming season, and asks anyone who might be interested to call him at 403-312-4969 or email him at coach.bighorn@telus.net.