Junior varsity football returns to Churchill

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/05/2016 (3777 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time the Churchill Bulldogs high school football program had a junior varsity  team some of the current players were just graduating from kindergarten or maybe Grade 1.

The Bulldogs had a very successful nine-man JV program that went undefeated in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, winning back-to-back championships. Following those years, the number of students at Collège Churchill High School declined and the program went through a few changes and growing pains.  

Now the program is once again in a great spot and on its way up. The school has once again an influx of younger students on both the French and English sides and many young student athletes are taking part in many school sports. This has resulted in a rejuvenation of JV football and we thank coach Medeiros, who has stepped up to head the JV coaching team.

Spring football practices were held every day in the first couple weeks of May and the enthusiasm couldn’t have been more positive regarding the team’s progression.

“We had 16 players show up to our first practice, which is a decent number for nine-man football although the popularity has grown like wild fire since,” Coach Medeiros said. The numbers have consistently been in the low 20s for every practice since, and new players continue to sign up, despite soccer and other activities happening at this time of year.

On Fri., May 6, the team had 31 players dressed for its blue vs. white intra-squad game.  

Many of the players are first timers although there are several veterans from other programs and the group is led by a veteran Bulldog  — last year’s varsity surprise, Jose Robinson.  

As varsity spring camp winds down, there is a lot of excitement revolving around the upcoming JV and varsity seasons. The future of the program in general looks very promising as a JV team adds immense potential to the varsity program.

Regular season football camp will begin in August, two weeks before school begins. If Churchill students are interested in joining the program please talk to coach Medeiros or myself, coach Sylvestre.

This spring, Bulldog student athletes are going strong with four soccer teams, two rugby teams, and golf and track and field teams.

Thanks are due to the coaches and volunteers who make the magic happen. Without you, none of this would be possible.

Dan Sylvestre is a community correspondent for Fort Rouge.