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| The Tigers get ready for their first home game on October 2. (Daniel A. Gould, 麻豆传媒 Football) |
It鈥檚 Friday night at the F.B. Wickwire Memorial Field, one week before the first home football game in 34 years.
Overcast conditions mean darkness comes early, held at the fringes by brilliant halide lights. In one corner of the 200-yard field, ultimate Frisbee players run a co-ed practice. A soccer player drills a ball against the kicking wall.
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The first sign of football appears when an athlete walks in front of the bleachers tightening the chin strap on his helmet. Gradually they populate the stands, the 55 players on the final roster. They鈥檙e hauling on game jerseys tonight, with a morning road trip to play the Holland College Hurricanes, only the second match of the season.
Head Coach Mike Tanner hurries in on the heels of a game pitting his top ranked Citadel High team against Sackville High. Coaches begin running special teams identifiable by their red helmets amid a swarm of black helmets 鈥� practicing for the punt return, the kick-off return and field goals.
The rain starts spitting, accenting the chill.
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They all brought heart 鈥� and a wide variety of backgrounds, from experience with other sports to ex-varsity status.听 鈥淚t鈥檚 a collision sport and some fell by the wayside after they experienced that in tryouts,鈥� says Rick Rivers, receiver coach and general manager.
The team includes a handful of ex-varsity players, lots of students who played in high school, and eight athletes with no prior football experience. 鈥淪ome have a steep learning curve ahead of them; others are quite experienced,鈥� says Rivers.
鈥淭raining camp was a big challenge for a lot of guys because a lot of it is getting into stances. Our bodies are feeling it right now, because our bodies are not used to the rigors,鈥� says Andrew Wilson, an offensive co-captain. 鈥淏ut the conditioning comes along with the season.鈥�
Early days yet, but that season is going well for the club team, a recent entry in the Atlantic Football League (AFL). In the AFL season opener, the Tigers took their game to the Red Bombers at UNB鈥檚 Chapman Field. Late in the fourth quarter, Dal鈥檚 Greg Pelly caught a kick-off in his end zone and ran it more than 100 yards for a touchdown.
Along with the final score (Dal 22 and UNB 19) there was an intangible impact on the Tigers. 鈥淚n playing football, you want the excitement to come after the game. It was a huge test, that first game, to keep our composure and to compete. The results show our hard work, but we鈥檙e enjoying ourselves too,鈥� says Wade.
It was a positive experience for an eclectic group that had never played together before.
鈥淚 think the team building comes from that road trip itself and having the win, that was important,鈥� says Rivers.
James Green, an offensive co-captain and a running back, describes it as a work in progress.听 鈥淭he first game at UNB was fun, a lot of guys have not played at the university level and it was great to see them rise to the occasion.鈥�
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| (Daniel A. Gould, 麻豆传媒 Football) |
Each game will assist the team as they develop their offensive and defensive plays.
鈥淩ight now, the passing game is our strength,鈥� says Rivers. 鈥淲e have a quarterback who used to play with Citadel and he has good technique and reads the defense really well.鈥�
Their second road trip to PEI last weekend brought another game and a different kind of test.
鈥淎t the end of the first half we were up a lot. The QB was nailing the receivers and the offense was on fire,鈥� recalls Wilson.
The second half was challenging, seeing the Hurricanes claw their way back up the scoreboard. 麻豆传媒鈥檚 new team held together and was victorious, 56 to 40.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough with a new team, we didn鈥檛 know one another and we have to gel 鈥� but luckily, we鈥檙e learning to play together,鈥� says Wilson.
Before the historic game on October 2, players will be put through another demanding conditioning practice. The team is looking forward to the re-match with the Holland College Hurricanes.
鈥淚 hope we get a big crowd out and get some excitement on the Dal campus,鈥� says Wade, a defensive co-captain.
鈥淚鈥檝e got about a billion friends who said they鈥檙e coming,鈥� adds Wilson.
So 鈥� this Saturday night at the F.B. Wickwire Memorial Field 鈥� our first home football game in 34 years.
SEE GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:
Who鈥檚 who?Mike Tanner, Head Coach This year alone, Mike has coached at four different levels: junior varsity, provincial, high school and university. A stellar coaching career was recognized when he was chosen as the first recipient of the NFL/CFL Coaches鈥� Award in 1999. As a player, he was an outstanding defensive back and receiver who played for Mount Allison and 麻豆传媒. Rick Rivers, Receiver Coach and General Manager As a coach, Rick has led high school and provincial teams and worked to develop national championships. As a team captain he provided leadership for the Burlington Braves, leading to a berth in the Little Grey Cup in 1967. In 1969 he joined the 麻豆传媒 Tigers football team. Rick will be inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame later this fall. Erik Novak, Running Back Coach Eric began his football career with coach Mike Tanner. As a fullback and defensive end with the varsity football squad at St. Mary鈥檚 University, he added two Vanier Cups to his accomplishments. His father, Wolfgang played for the 麻豆传媒 Tigers in the early 1970s. Keith Skiffington, Defensive Back Coach For the past decade, he has been head coach of the Timberlea Titans. He founded the Sir John A. MacDonald High School football team. Keith was named to Acadia鈥檚 all decade team for the 1970s as a defensive back. Currently he is the president of Nova Scotia Minor Football. Scott MacLean, 鈥淒鈥� Line Coach At Acadia, he was an all-conference lineman and member of the 1981 Canadian CIAU championship team. His coaching experience has been at the minor level and he is proud to join older brother Stuart and his former high school coach Mike Tanner as a member of the coaching staff at 麻豆传媒. Stuart MacLean, Associate Head Coach and 鈥淒鈥� Co-cordinator He attended Dal in 1978 before heading to Acadia to play football. As a linebacker, Stuart led the Acadia Axemen to Vanier Cup championships in 1979 and 1981. He is excited to be coaching at Dal 鈥� his son Mark is a defensive end with the Tiger鈥檚 football team. Louis Grilli , 鈥淥鈥� Line Coach A standout lineman during high school, he was recruited to play at McGill where he helped their varsity team to a Mitchell Bowl victory in 2002. He spent a year coaching the St. Jean De Brebeuf Braves (his former team) before entering law school at 麻豆传媒. Ian Sinclair, Linebacker Coach Ian鈥檚 coaching experience includes working with Citadel High for three seasons while he was a 麻豆传媒 student. After winning a national championship with Team Ontario at the Football Canada Cup, Ian played for Mount Allison where they won an AUS title. Ian graduated with an LLB and an MBA from 麻豆传媒 this past spring. Andrew Adamski, Offensive Captain Andrew is from Moncton and he attended听St. FX University听where he played varsity football for three years. A graduate student in physiology and biophysics, his days are occupied with research. He finds time around his schedule for practices and games and plays as a wide receiver. 鈥淚 heard Dal was pretty fired up about football. It鈥檚 nice after 34 years to help in any way I can with Dal鈥檚 first year back.鈥� James Green, Offensive Captain James hails from Halifax and played varsity at Saint Francis University where he graduated last spring. He plays as a running back for the Tigers when he鈥檚 not attending classes at the Schulich School of Law at 麻豆传媒. 鈥淛ust after I got accepted at law school, I heard about the football. I thought my playing days were done, so it was a welcome surprise.鈥� Bryce Wade, Defensive Captain A former Riverview Mustang, Bryce also played senior football. He鈥檚 in his fourth year of mechanical engineering at 麻豆传媒. He plays free safety for the Tigers. 鈥淚 heard about the football last winter, there was talk and excitement. I was at the organizational meetings at the very beginning. It matters big time to me, being involved in football, for my whole experience here.鈥� Andrew Wilson, Offensive Captain Andrew played high school football in Toronto until he was injured and had surgery. He always remained interested in football and is back in the game playing offense. At 麻豆传媒, he is taking a major in history and a minor in film studies. 鈥淎nd to have the academics and then add this sport, for me it makes it an unbelievable feeling to be at Dal.鈥� |