Sports at a junior level are not about winning titles but rather the opportunity for young athletes to develop teamwork while having fun playing a game they thoroughly enjoy.
The Sundre Bisons, who were able to salvage their season through last-minute, early-season fundraising efforts, are ranked tied for last place out of the six teams that make up the Mountain View 9 Man Football Conference. Leading the pack are the Strathmore Badgers, followed by the Innisfail Cyclones in second and the Didsbury Dragons in third. The Carstairs Tigers are tied with the Bisons in fifth place.
“It's not just about the score and how far we go in the league,” said the Bisons' manager Logan Dichrow.
“It's about being able to play on the team.”
The Bisons played in Didsbury on Saturday, Oct. 15. Although the squad lost 15-0, the players demonstrated heart coupled with a great effort that resulted in actually drastically reducing the spread by which they had been defeated by the Dragons the weekend before on home turf, when that game's final ended at 44-0, she said.
Each member of the Bisons “is playing amazingly well each game.” The squad has also improved its ability to work together more as a team to execute plays, she said.
“They did that really well at this past game (on Oct. 15 in Didsbury).”
Several of the Sundre Bisons have demonstrated the extent of their commitment to the team, and Dichrow said, “They're definitely showing a lot of progress in the games.”
But even during practice, the dedicated athletes nevertheless show up and work hard to be part of the team, she added.
“It's not just about how each player plays but how they work and interact as a team.”
Underscoring the fact that the Bisons are more interested in the opportunity to play rather than just win titles, Dichrow said the players were not even fazed earlier in the season when they had to forfeit and take a loss against Innisfail due to a lack of players. The teams ended up duelling in a friendly scrimmage, she said.
“They didn't care that they had to forfeit and lose the game. They just wanted to play the game for the love of the game.”
The conference's relatively brief football season is already nearing its end, with semifinals lined up for Oct. 29 and finals scheduled on Nov. 5.
The Bisons also played in Carstairs for their last game this season on Saturday, when they were defeated 40-30.
The coaching and managing staff are extremely proud of the Bisons and how strongly they played this season. The senior players who showed dedication over the years will be greatly missed moving forward, said Dichrow.
“It doesn't look like we'll be making playoffs — that just means we can have the banquet sooner,” she said, adding a date was still being worked out.
Although she did not know for certain whether the increase in the number of fans this season was local or from the visiting teams, the Bisons' manager said she did notice more people coming out to see the games.
“There's a greater fan turnout, which is great support.”
