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martensville messenger - SEPTEMBER 15 , 2016 - Page 9
Dalmeny Cougars
ABOVE : The Dalmeny Cougars team roster consists of : PLAYERS BACK ROW - Colby McPhail , Jon Hanson-Wiebe , Austin Finch , Cameron Robinson , Jordan Dasiuk , Ethan Waldner , Jonathon VanLeeuwen , Liam Smith . PLAYERS MIDDLE ROW - Taryn Dolsen , Rhys Tkachuk , Vince Waldner , Nic Slobodian , Bailey Tisdel , Lane Neufeld , Bret Haffner . PLAYERS FRONT ROW - Keenan Janzen , Brandon McKinley , Evan Reimer , Chad Davies , Thomas Neudorf , Tyler Peterson , Austin Elliot-Brecht , Ethan Peterson . MISSING - Owen Lindberg . Coaches - Stephen Kowalchuk , Cory Lewis , Dawson Heggestad and Liam Moore . ( Tyler Janzen )
Dalmeny Cougars Take to the Field
Janine Hayward , Martensville Messenger
The Dalmeny Cougars have taken to the field after finishing their training camp last week . They faced Hafford on Thursday in their first game of the six man league , where they were defeated 54-27 .
Head coaching duties are shared by Cory Lewis and Stephen Kowalchuk , who are both teachers in Dalmeny . Lewis calls the offensive plays while Kowalchuk takes on the defensive duties . It ’ s always good to see alumni come back to help , as they have players , Dawson Heggestad and Liam Smith coaching as well . The team is young this year , fielding only one grade 12 player , so the coaches know they have work to do getting them field ready . “ We have a lot of athletes that can make plays , so as the experience comes , the improvement should happen fast ,” commented Kowalchuk .
The Cougars suited 24 players this season so the interest for football is alive in Dalmeny . This is the fourth year for the football program that was started by both the coaches . Kowalchuk came to the school in 2010 and saw there was interest . When Lewis was hired in 2011 they both got the ball rolling after they approached their administrators about the need for football and the positive benefits it would have on the school . “ We had a core group of students who would fall between grades 9-12 when we planned to play our first season in the fall of 2013 ,” Kowalchuk explained . The parents and community got behind them and after some aggressive fundraising efforts , they were able to purchase equipment and suit up in 2013 . “ We had to raise a lot of money to buy all the necessary equipment to start a program , so we picked garbage in ditches , sold magazines , applied for grants and wrote a lot of letters ,” commented Kowalchuk . They received major grants from the Saskatchewan Roughriders , SGI and Agrium as well as a few others . The community and residents also rallied behind them and they received donations from families as well . They were thankful that the Town of Dalmeny allowed them the use of Centennial Field for their games . “ There were so many people involved in many ways and the school and community of Dalmeny helped make our dream of football come true .”
The team continues to do fundraising each year , and this year will be selling cards that get the buyer discounts at several businesses in the Saskatoon area . “ We just want to thank all the people who support our team ,” Kowalchuk added .
The team travels to Hague this Thursday and hosts Biggar the following week . Their last home game is October 6 when Macklin comes to Dalmeny . Good luck in your 2016 football season !
ABOVE : The Dalmeny Cougars have finished training camp and have started their regular season last week . ( Tyler Janzen )
GO COUGARS ! FROM THE TOWN OF DALMENY !
GO
COUGARS !!