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Go west young man

By Blake Roberts-BCFC, 07/07/16, 8:15PM PDT

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In BC there are 51 high schools with football programs.

As  British Columbia Football Conference training camps open this week, young men from across Canada are heading to BC to play junior football. Athletes from across the prairies, Ontario and as even as far away as the Maritimes have packed their bags to make our province home, if just temporarily. For some of these 18-22 year olds it will be their first time away from home-post high school to play football. For others it will be a return to lead their club as a veteran junior player.

In 2015, approximately 33% of the 335 players on the 6 BCFC rosters were from high schools or midget programs outside of BC. An unheard of number when compared to the Prairie Football Conference teams where talent is essentially home grown and the clubs are composed mainly of players from the local area.

Where did the phenomenon of BC junior teams recruiting heavily outside its city originate? There were earlier situations of course, but many would point to the year 1981 when the Okanagan Sun joined what was then the "Big 4" conference comprising the Sun, Richmond Raiders, Vancouver Meralomas and the Renfrew Trojans. With only a single midget team in the city to draw from, the Sun team was built on players from Kamloops, which at that time was a hot bed of high school football. The Sun also had a sprinkling of players from the prairies, United States and Ontario. The Sun franchise, which arguably had no business existing based on the number of players it had (or rather didn't have) in its backyard would finish last place in the conference with a 2-5-2 record that season. The following season, the Sun would finish in first place in the conference before being upset in the BC championship to eventual Canadian champion Renfrew Trojans.

The flame was lit however, as the Sun had proved that a small market junior football team could be successful through recruiting players outside its borders. Fast forward to 1985 when a young coach joined the Sun staff to oversee linebackers before taking over as head coach in 1986.

When Lawrence Nagy took over as Sun head coach the club was still slowly climbing its way out of near bankruptcy due to questionable business practices of the former club President. Couple that with the organizations decision to host the 1984 national championship as a neutral site...a financial failure and all was not rosy in the Okanagan. When Nagy became head coach of the Sun he was likely too young to be in the position but smart enough to lean on coaching minds he knew…former teammates and coaches from the University Of Alberta where he had starred as a linebacker.

“I was really green so I turned to the people I knew. Our spring camp, I think we were actually the first team to hold one, was comprised mainly of coaches from the U of A. They helped serve as a pipe line to players in Alberta and I guess thats’s where it started. If there were no Alberta players the Sun would have folded for sure. We just didn’t have players in the Okanagan or anywhere in the area.”

The lure of a tourist destination like Kelowna where football was king and beaches were plenty was a powerful draw to young men from Alberta.

“Our first recruiting video was more beaches and bikini’s but I think pretty soon the players saw a well run program and good coaching when they got here” Nagy reminisced. “That and the fan support was incredible for junior football. It exposed them to an interest level their former high school team mates playing in Edmonton weren’t experiencing.” said Nagy

If the flame of Sun success was lit in 1982, the construction of a dynasty began on Nagy’s watch which saw him lead the club on two occasions (88-90 and 1999/2001).  From 1986 through 2008 the Sun would appear in 23 consecutive BCFC championship games, winning 13 conference titles and 2 Canadian Bowls (1988 & 2000).

The Sun dominance of the conference likely would have lasted longer and saw more championships had the VI Raiders not arrived on scene after relocating from Victoria in 2005. The Raiders, a small market club like the Sun, had already seen the benefit of prairie players while in Victoria as the Rebels franchise. The solid base of prairie players in Victoria would grow once the club moved to Nanaimo. The Head coach of the Raiders, Matt “Snoop” Blokker proved to be a master of the art of recruitment of junior football players and expanded his net to Ontario for blue chip athletes there.

In Blokker’s 11 seasons as head coach of the Raiders/Rebels franchise (2003/2014) his club ran roughshod over the conference as the organization won 8 conference and 3 Canadian Bowls (06,08,09). Now head coach of the Calgary Colts of the Prairie Football Conference, Blokker says the Raiders, like the Sun simply would not exist were it not for athletes beyond the borders of Nanaimo.

“It’s not just championships, there just wasn’t enough football there to even field a team at the junior level. Minor football and it’s coaches there are doing a great job and it’s really grown. We capitalized on it with some real good local players but absolutely you have to be able to get out there and recruit to bring players in if you are going to be successful in BC.

“You have to get out and work hard anywhere. I had different challenges in Nanaimo than I do in Calgary and visa versa. You have to get out and do the work as a head coach. If you are just going to sit and wait for players you aren’t going to be successful.”  Said Blokker, who holds the record as the winningest head coach in BCFC history.

For all the championships won by the Sun and Raiders, this isn’t a story of successful franchises, but rather challenges faced by clubs in the BCFC for a small pool of players. While British Columbia is by population the largest of the 4 western provinces, in terms of the amount of high school football players to draw from it is the little brother or worse…the red headed step child so to speak, of the western provinces.

One look at the number of high schools playing football in the BC compared to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta and the numbers are glaring. In BC there are 51 high schools with football programs. In Alberta the number is more than double that (127) while Manitoba has 34. In Rider country the football madness seems to trickle down from the pro team as Saskatchewan has an incredible 109 school playing football broken down with 35 schools playing 12 man, 21 playing 9 man and a further 53 smaller schools playing the 6 man variety. Saskatchewan may be small in population but it seems every young boy, and in some cases young girl knows how to throw a football. Or at least block for someone carrying one…

With 6 BCFC teams battling for the talent in the province it goes beyond the math but also the football culture according to conference Vice President Tyler Mclaren, himself also a former player and head coach of the Surrey (Langley) Rams.

“The kids coming from the prairies are different sometimes in terms of  how they approach the game. Football on the prairies in particular, it is almost in bedded into guys at a young age.  I don’t want to say BC players have an indifferent attitude towards football, but you sometimes see a difference in kids from say from the Prairies. It’s a different mentality, where guys are hard nosed, and where football is culture. High school coaches in BC sometimes have to beat the bushes to get a kid to play. On the prairies the high school coaches don't have that issue"

Mclaren says it seems a prairie football player often reacts better to relocating to a new city and living with a billet than a Vancouver based player does. Hence BC teams likely prefer to recruit there. Many players moving from out of province into BC, are forced to grow up when they leave their province. New surroundings can seem intimidating to some, but Prairie players seem to take the challenge, run with it, and mature as people, beyond football.

“The players from the lower mainland are more likely to pack in football rather than relocate after high school if they can’t make a roster. For a prairie kid, its pretty cool to be recruited to play in BC. Many Prairie players have been cut in their hometown, come to BC and excel, and leave the BCFC as All Canadians. After that, many of those same kids continue on to CIS after their graduation, and in some cases gotten professional opportunities either right from Junior or through the draft."

While BCFC teams recruit on the prairies, sometimes due to the sheer number of players competing for roster spots on the prairie teams,  high school grads need the teams in BC as much as the teams need the players.

Take Layne Hull, a native of Yorkton who was cut by the Regina Thunder before being recruited by, and eventually starring for the Okanagan Sun at linebacker.

“I was cut by the Thunder so I went to a combine in Moose Jaw. I think from there they post player’s stuff and teams can look there to recruit. I was contacted by Mollard (Sun defensive coordinator Nathan Mollard). I think he is from Saskatoon so he looks for players out here. My aunt and uncle live in Kelowna and I know a couple other people there so I chose the Sun.”

If Hull bares any ill will after not making the Thunder roster he doesn’t say it.

“No, not at all… There are so many great players there (Saskatchewan). I think there were 64 linebackers at the 4 evaluation camps I went to for the Thunder, a lot of really good ones. It’s hard for coaches I guess to make a decision on who the best ones are. You got one rep and that was it.”

Despite suiting up for the Sun, Hull got the opportunity to play closer to home last season as the Sun travelled to Saskatoon to take on the Hilltops in the national championship. While the Sun fell in a heartbreaker, Layne made his family proud as he was named the outstanding defensive player in the game.

The 21 year old says while losing the Canadian Bowl was a bitter disappointment he has no regrets about his decision to play his football in BC.

“No, none at all…That was the best decision I ever made. I’ve grown so much as a person there. I’ve made so many friends. It’s been awesome in Kelowna.”

Winnipeg native Derek Yachison wrapped up his junior career in 2015 after 5 stellar seasons with the Kamloops Broncos. Derek’s BCFC career will go down as one of the all time best in conference history and his final season of junior football saw him named the outstanding offensive player in the Canadian Junior Football League.

Yet, Yachison almost never stepped on a junior field as he wasn’t recruited by his hometown Rifles after graduating from Murdoch McKay Collegiate. He attended a couple CIS spring camps but was told he was “a little raw” still for university football and should play junior for a season or two before university. He attended a Regina Thunder camp but was a victim of the same Saskatchewan numbers that befell Layne Hull.

After his recruiting video was sent to BCFC clubs Yachison signed with the Kamloops Broncos, with the intention of playing junior for a season or two before heading back to a CIS school. Once he got the taste of life in BC and junior football in picturesque Kamloops however, he decided to make Bronco country home for a bit longer.

“Me and Faisthuber (Broncos offensive coordinator Mike Faisthuber) just clicked. He and Dino (Kamloops President Dino Bernardo) were great to me. We became friends, they and the Broncos organization treat their players so well. Football is a pretty big deal there, the stadium is awesome. I’m so glad I did it. I’m going to miss Kamloops a lot. It became a second home for me. I’d tell anyone to go there.

“I think playing there prepares you better for after football it’s done. You grow up living on your own with other players. The media experiences, the whole thing is pretty cool. Kamloops was a great place to play football.”

The Langley Rams are the one BCFC club that relied very little on out of town players in 2015 (4 on the final roster). Based in the Fraser Valley, it is the closest option for lower mainland players wanting to stay close to home. The Valley Huskers are the next closest team, and with that requiring about another 45 minutes of drive time, the Rams are benefitting in a major way with there no longer being clubs in the lower mainland to compete with. Couple that with arguably the best stadium and facilities in the conference with McLeod Athletic Park and the Rams have done well, taking 2 of the past 4 conference titles.

Still, the Rams are a preferred destination for prairie talent. Winnipeger Anthony Daley graduated from the Rams last season and as was a dominant force on the offensive line, being named to the All Canadian team in 2014 and 2015. Daley was heavily recruited by the Rifles and while he how now returned to his home town Manitoba Bisons for university football, he has fond memories of life with the Rams.

“I wanted a change, I felt I wanted to move away from home for a while to play football. My uncle lived in Langley so it made sense to go there. It was a great organization. I was treated really well. I loved BC and would definitely recommend it to players in Winnipeg.”

While a select number of young men venture to BC after high school, there is an obvious feeling of angst among some of the Prairie Football Conference Clubs over losing players to BC. There have been overtures from the prairies in the past about recruiting boundaries or limiting a players ability to leave their home province. While boundaries don’t exist at the national level and players are free to choose to play in another conference, the PFC has implemented boundaries there. A player graduating from high school in Calgary cannot play in Edmonton for example without permission of the Colts. This recruiting restriction is not one Calgary coach Matt Blokker is a fan of.

“Like I said, it’s all about a coach working hard. I don't think you can just sit and wait for players to come to you. Put in the work like you ask a player to do in the field and it takes care of itself. The way it works in the PFC now if a player doesn’t want to play in Edmonton his only choice is to go to BC or Ontario. He couldn’t come to Calgary if he wanted to. We are forcing players out of our own area. I don’t like our rule here at all.” said Blokker

The BCFC has let its brethren in the PFC know that boundaries are not something the conference would consider as it feels its ability to compete with the PFC, which already dominates the CJFL Canadian Bowl championship trophy case would go from slim to none. The PFC has captured 11 of the 16 national championships since 2000.

Tyler Mclaren says the BCFC teams would love to exist purely on home grown talent as that would lower recruiting costs greatly but it’s not an option due to the lack of high schools here.

“I know up in Kelowna or Kamloops they would love to have 30 high school each to draw from, that would make things so much easier. Unfortunately thats not the case though, I think they both have 3 or-5 schools within an hour. If they can’t bring in players they might as well close up shop. Our numbers in BC aren’t going to get better but I know the schools are working to increase the talent level. It’s about depth as much as anything.”

As an answer to the PFC concerns about players heading to the BCFC, the conference did propose a rule that was accepted at the CJFL national meetings in Regina in 2013. A player who signs a CJFL registration is essentially bound to that team for 2 years. If after playing a season a player wanted to play for a different CJFL club he would have to sit out a year unless his team chose to release him. The “go home rule” allows for a player who has left his home conference to return to play in his home city no questions asked.

McLaren feels the “go home” rule is a good one for the players.

“It’s a major commitment for these young men to leave their city. Again, it’s not like hockey where they are billeted with everything taken care of. Most of our athletes are working during the day, practicing at night and paying rent. But like our teams will say, its a good life experience. And I know most of the parents will agree it made their sons better young men.

“But, being away from home isn’t for everyone. The ability to go back home I think is a good thing. I know Paul Shortt brought up the idea that we should have the rule in conference for players that have relocated from their city. Maybe that’s something we will look at as well.”

McLaren doesn’t mince words when it comes to the rivalry that exists between the BCFC and PFC which can at times be just as fierce as the one between individual teams in the BCFC for bragging rights.

“I know some of the coaches there (PFC) are critical of our conference. We hear it all the time that our football isn’t as good. And I get them saying that to an athlete that is considering playing here. Because of the amount of high schools they have we will never win as many championships, I’m not going to argue that. But every year only one team wins. Our top level talent is as good, its the depth where the prairies is a step ahead. That’s due to the amount of schools they have, unfortunately there isn’t much we can do there.

“I’m guessing we put just as many players in the CIS or pros. You get to play a couple more games a year out here (The BCFC plays 10 games and the PFC traditionally plays 8 although this year the PFC plays a 9 game schedule) and our road trips are a lot shorter. You add that to playing in small cities and junior size stadiums in front of better fan bases and I think playing out in BC makes sense, at least for most players.”

The BCFC and PFC renews its rivalry at the home of the BC champions on November 12. 

Regardless how that game turns out McLaren has advice for high school players yet to sign with a CJFL club.

“Go west young man, go west.”