Post-season showdowns a bound
Government high school exams continue in Wild Rose Country right up to June 29. However, in terms of the Grade 10-12 athletic season we’re in the home-stretch, with the final Alberta Schools Athletic Association provincial championship banners (rugby alone this campaign) slated to be presented June 9. Thus, the final countdown has indeed begun. ••• The ASAA’s South Zone High School Track Meet is in Medicine Hat this time around. It goes to the blocks Thursday. This event rotates between the Gas City and Lethbridge.
In addition to individual and team titles on the line, qualifiers advance to the ASAA Provincial Track and Field Championships, June 1-2, in Red Deer.
As an aside, it sure pleases me to see the University of Lethbridge Community Stadium set up for the ongoing array of track meets in May. It’s so exponentially better than previous local venues. Progress. ••• The Southern Alberta High School Rugby League regular season ends this week. As well, a Junior Varsity Festival concludes that portion of the schedule on Saturday.
All ASAA South Zone varsity rugby teams are members of the SAHSRL loop. Instead of holding league playoffs, followed by zone championships, the two stages are combined in a quest for zone championships and provincial berths. Thus, the rugby post-season is teed up next Tuesday, May 29. Zone finals are scheduled for June 4, with all three provincial tiers to be contested in Calgary, June 89. ••• The ASAA does not govern any diamond action. This allows players to participate on club and school teams concurrently, which is verboten in ASAA activities. Of course, players that do play on multiple teams at this time of year, particularly baseball pitchers, face challenges. So do schedule makers.
The Southern Alberta High School Baseball League Playoff Tournaments, long referred to as Provincial Championships, are set for this Friday and Saturday, with Tier 1 in Medicine Hat and Tier 2 slated for Milk River.
As for the Lethbridge Regional High School Baseball League, their post-season is with us as well. I have no idea what geographic territory the victors claim dominion over. ••• The Southern Alberta High School Girls Slopitch League regular season hits the history books this week. There’s an invitational tournament in Cardston Saturday.
The post-season titles are on deck, Thursday, May 31, at Softball Valley, which is certainly a commodious local home for the sport. ••• In some ways the 2018 ASAA football season has already begun with spring camps ongoing at many schools.
Football Alberta works hand-in-hand with ASAA gridiron. Perhaps most notably, the groups endeavour to co-ordinate their provincial championships, a real challenge in terms of field and game official assignments.
Football Alberta includes ASAA achievements in their awards criteria. I was happy to see two locals, plus an area product, receive 2017 hardware over the weekend.
Wayne Alexander was bestowed a Life Membership/Hall of Fame accolade. The recently retired Pincher Creek Mustangs head coach has certainly devoted a large portion of his life to the sport. He’s displayed boundless energy on and off the field.
My favourite never-say-die exhibit was Wayne braving harsh elements in a partially covered temporary booth to do play-by-play for five Alberta Bowl ASAA provincial championship tilts at U of L in 2014.
Football Alberta’s High School Tier IV Coach of the Year Award went to Tim
Bryson. The eternally excitable lad has served as either head or co-head coach at Claresholm Willow Creek for two decades and the team is a provincial trail staple. This past season they captured the program’s second Tier IV ASAA provincial title, joining the 2006 squad in lasting Wild Rose Country glory.
Raymond ex-patriot Brock Ralph was accorded the Football Alberta Norm Kimball Coach of the Year Award. His Edmonton Harry Ainlay lads hoisted the Tier I provincial banner. I imagine they are the second favourite team in Raymond.
WELLSIE’S WORLD — In terms of positive synergy between local high school, club and University of Lethbridge athletics
Neil Langevin is a leading exhibit. I was ohso impressed the U of L was able to lure the former Canadian national team head coach to the westside campus as a full-time women’s rugby coach, unlike his previous off-campus tenures.
The Winston Churchill staple joins ’Horns women’s basketball bench boss Dave Adams and men’s basketball maestro Mike Hansen as former area secondary school administrators who now direct U of L programs as on-campus leaders. All three are U of L grads, too.
That trio’s current career choices indicate
commitment to athletics from U of L president Mike Mahon (chair of the board for U Sports, the governing body of university athletics in Canada, as well) and vicepresident finance & administration Nancy Walker.
Further evidence U of L athletics, under Executive Director Ken McInnes, are being aggressive in promoting their varsity programs is the fact the men’s hockey team host the national championship Final 8 next March. Which brings me around to my final take this week.
The amazing success of the Vegas Golden Knights has folks looking for comparable sporting Cinderella stories. Well, let me present the U of L’s 1993-94 men’s hockey team.
Up to that point the program had a 57-182-9 (.248) record in its first nine Canada West Conference regular seasons, never making the playoffs. They went 9-16-3 in 1992-93. As well, there were multiple oh-so credible reasons to believe the program was on the chopping block as ’93-’94 unfolded under a financial cloud hovering over campus. The glass slipper fit perfectly in ’93-’94, under oneseason head coach Mike Babcock, including a 19-7-2 first place regular season triumph, playoff crown and — gulp — national title, finishing at 34-11-3.
I’d never witnessed anything I considered similar — until this Vegas onslaught that is. Wow!