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Caleb Mueller (from left), Jordan Boulet and Matt Larson are looking forward to fielding a midget team this season for the Fort Garry Lions. (AVI SAPER)

Caleb Mueller loves football, and thanks to the Fort Garry Lions he doesn’t need to change high schools to play.

The Grade 10 student at Linden Christian School is counting down the weeks until the start of the midget football season with the Lions, a club he has played with for seven years.

"For me, I go to a school with no high school football, so this is my main option," said the 15-year-old receiver and punter from Richmond West.

With the rapid growth of high school football in recent years, fielding a midget team of 15- to 17-year-olds has been a challenge for clubs such as the Lions. When Vincent Massey Collegiate launched a football team last season, the Lions had to put their midget program on ice.

"A lot of kids moved over and wanted to play for their high school," Lions club president Richard Holden said.

But many area schools — such as Fort Richmond Collegiate, Linden Christian School, Springs Christian Academy and St. John’s Ravenscourt — have plenty of kids interested in playing football, Holden added.

Matt Larson coached the Lions’ 15-year-old juvenile team to a provincial championship last season and is confident he’ll be patrolling the sidelines for a midget squad this year.

At least 20 players are returning from the juvenile team, and Larson expects an infusion of talent moving up from the bantam level.
Then you can add some players such as Holden’s son, who played as a 15-year-old but chose to sit out last season rather than play for a rival club.

"His response (to the suggestion of playing for the St. Vital Mustangs) was, ‘Dad, I’m a Lion,’" Holden said. "But those kids are 17 now, it’s their last year of eligibility, and they’ll become leaders on the team."

Jordan Boulet, a 16-year-old defensive and offensive lineman from St. Norbert, is planning to try out for the team at Vincent Massey, but he said he would rather play for the Lions than be a third-stringer for the Trojans.

"Playing for the Lions was fun," Boulet said of last season’s championship run, his first year as a Lion. "The competition can be really exciting. It would be nice to play with a lot of the same guys."

For Mueller, it’s the no-nonsense approach to practising and playing that he likes about football.

"I love the team’s level of dedication," he said. "There’s no fooling around. We get right down to business."

As a coach, Larson’s main goal is to give his players the same character-building experience that helped shape him when he played for the Lions in the early 1990s.

"We have a great venue and atmosphere, everyone is here to have fun, and they play every game regardless of skill level," Larson said.

The Lions added a second field to their facility in 2009, and are in the process of finalizing funding for new lightning for both fields.

Registration for all Lions teams will take place on May 6 and 7, from 6 to 9 p.m., and May 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Ray Fennel Sports Centre, Clarence Avenue at Hamelin Street.

avi.saper@canstarnews.com