(From the Stanstead College yearbook)
Senior Boys
Bermuda 2016, baby! I have never taken the senior boys rugby team on tour in my career. This was the right year to do it. Bermuda was the perfect place. Eleven amazing guys. Thanks to you boys who made the trip. Thanks to Tat and Coach Underhill. Thanks to Grenville and the whole Lines family. Thanks to the girls who helped us fundraise.
Starting in Bermuda, even though we got shellacked, was the kick-start we needed. Upon returning to the regular season, we played the two best teams in the GMAA and beat them both in pre-season games. We then travelled on a four-day road trip to Rugbyfest at RNS in New Brunswick where we defeated the three other teams in our pool and played a great KES team in the division finals, losing by only 1.0. This was one of the best starts to any season I have ever coached.
Upon our return from the Maritimes. we had a difficult choice to make: the league wanted to play 7s for the next month. We had 23 guys on the team. We had to split them into two teams. The A Team went undefeated all season long, winning everything: the Abenakis 7s Tourney, the ETIAC league banner and the league championship, while the B Team took their losses, endured their lumps and bruises and gained valuable experience for next year. Solid results. Tough choice.
I am, however, very proud of the way our team withstood the obvious division and come out as unified as possible. Seeing the whole team rush the field when the A Team beat a tough Seminaire de Sherbrooke team in the final made me smile. I hope the entire team remembers what it's like to be part of a true unified team despite being divided for most of the season. Here's the lesson: it comes down to how we act in practice and you guys were amazing. Thank you.
Junior Boys
The junior boys rugby season often starts with a group of enthusiastic, young wannabe rugby players who cannot wait to start running with the ball and tackling each other. Thisyear was no exception. Unusually this year, we had some experience to back up our enthusiasm and some good weather in which to start practicing. Despite this, we mode a slow start to the season with losses in our first two 7s tournaments. Fervent efforts were made to plug our defensive leaks before the annual BCS 7s tournament. Despite winning big in two games and tying two more, we were unfortunate not to make the final. However, this propelled us to 12 straight undefeated games and a final record of 17 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties. The boys should be congratulated for their impressive efforts. Congratulations also to Hide Kaga and Alex Liddell for their Junior S awards and Patricia Flores for his Sportsmanship award. After another solid season the coaches are looking forward to further progress next year, as well as seeing some of these players flourish at the senior level.