The post-season is putting the cherry on top of a successful Vernon and District Minor Football Season.
From having two teams in each of three Southern Interior Conference divisions, to having dedicated coaches and parents – who shoveled off the football field at Greater Vernon Athletic Park for weekend playoff games – has left minor football president Devin Rodger beaming.
“First off in our first year of having two teams in every division we had great success finding enough well-trained coaches to fill every position to develop our players and it shows as both our JB (Junior Bantam) and Pee Wee teams made the first round of playoffs,” said Rodger.
The post-season started Saturday, Nov. 12, with an all-Vernon JB semifinal at GVAP with the first-place Blue Magnums (7-0) taking on the fourth-place White Magnums (4-3).
Today, Sunday, Nov. 13, the Vernon White Magnums (3-5, fourth place) visit the first-place, undefeated Kelowna Grey Grizzlies (8-0) at 10 a.m., in one Pee Wee semifinal, and the 7-1 Vernon Blue Magnums meet third-place Kamloops at 12 p.m. in the other.
Vernon’s two atom teams will play each other for fourth place.
“Our Atom coaches did a great job developing these young athletes and made the learning experience fun,” said Rodger. “This age group feeds our program for future Pee Wee and JB teams. The future looks bright for Vernon Minor Football as we have some aspiring athletes looking to move up the ranks.”
Rodger said Vernon Minor Football expanded its program to strive and build a positive football culture.
“We have held a few fundraiser events and the participation from our parents has been outstanding and will benefit our program by allowing us to develop our young athletes in our community with good equipment and training opportunities,” he said. “We are hoping to keep building on this. To show you how amazing this group of parents are, our field had four-to-six inches of snow on the field which makes it hard to play on.
“On Tuesday and Thursday, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. an army of parents brought shovels, tarps, and great work ethic and cleared the entire field by hand. It was amazing to watch and be a part of. Vernon Minor Football would like to thank all involved in the snow removal effort. it truly was an amazing display of teamwork…”
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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