Nomads’ Majors back in the game
Coaches are creating a new, stronger team
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This article was published 19/09/2016 (3555 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The North Winnipeg Nomads Football Club has brought back its Major team after a two-year hiatus.
Two years ago, the club’s board decided to disband the team for not having enough community connections. They wanted a team that was generated from the neighbourhood. The Nomads wil take players from all parts of the city but want to focus mainly on local players.
“We’ve gone with the motto that we are a new team and we’re are going to take whatever we can take right now and build from there,” Aaron Taylor, Major team coach, said. “I call it a rebuilding process. We’re just trying to build some culture and instil some basic things we feel needs to happen over the next couple years.”
Having players from their part of the city is important so they can have more community engagement and support.
“We have quite a bit of fans. They see the lights in the stadium, and they come out to see the game.” Dylan Yerex, a 22-year-old Nomad, said. “It’s always good to play at a packed stand. But it’s good for the younger kids to see this is how much support we have from the community and hopefully, it makes them want to play.”
Community engagement isn’t the only thing they need. Because the team had disappeared from the scene for a while, most of the players didn’t know each other, so building a relationship among the athletes was another task for the coaches.
Yerex, who previously played for the East Side Eagles Football Club, said it was hard at the beginning, but now the players have become closer and hang out together. He said the coaches are working on fun drills and activities to encourage players to know each other.
“A lot of us now are pretty close now. It was tough learning everybody’s names, and you have to meet everybody again, but we’ve done a pretty good job,” he said. “We work hard, but sometimes we have fun together.”
The relationship is important for the team’s performance in the field, Yerex added.
Another new piece of the team is the mentorship program the coaches are organizing. At some practices, the younger teams are invited to play with the Major team to learn from them.
“We are showing our players what it’s like to be a coach,’ Taylor said.
Yerex said mentoring had strengthened their team. He stated that they have a lot of fun going through drills with younger players.
“The Nomads have a lot of tradition and history being a tough football club. It’s nice to be able to go there and play for them,” he said.
The Major team has played five games so far. The team lost its first game on Aug. 6 36-27 against the St. Vital Mustangs, won its second game 10-9 over the St. James Rods, lost for the Transcona Nationals by 31-1, and won its last two games on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 18-13 and 42-20, respectively, over the West Kildonan Wolverines.
On Sept. 16, the Nomads Major team played against the St. Vital Mustangs. Scores were unavailable at press time.