Daniel Herrick has made it his goal to resurrect the Rocky Mountain Rams football club and is hopeful that a successful summer could lead to a full senior tackle team taking the field this fall.
As the head coach of the recently reborn Rams, Herrick has over five years experience coaching high school and minor league football in Saskatoon and wants to give youth in Cranbrook the chance to experience the sport first hand.
“Football has led me down a path of great experiences and lasting friendships,” Herrick said. “I think it is such a character building sport that benefits both the kids and the community as a whole. I just want kids here in Cranbrook to have the same opportunities to play football that I had growing up.”
Starting at the end of May and continuing into June, three programs will commence to get local kids involved in football. The Youth Rams are open to students in grades five and six, the Junior Rams are for grades seven through nine and the Senior Rams are for grades nine to twelve.
The ‘Youth’ and ‘Junior’ levels are flag football programs, while the ‘Senior’ division is a tackle program that is expected to form the basis of a team moving forward. All three levels will be holding their sessions on the main field at Mount Baker Secondary.
“Our practices are going to be full of energy and excitement as we equip [the kids] with football skills,” Herrick said. “We hope that by the end of June we have a bunch of kids who are excited and passionate about football.”
While Herrick says that they have already received enough registrants for two flag teams, he is still hoping for more to make the program even stronger. In order for the Rams to play games come September, more players and support are necessary.
“Our goal is to return a full senior tackle program this fall [and] we are working on scheduling games which will be made easier once we can guarantee we have the funding to do so,” Herrick explained. “By having a strong number committed to working with the team even before we have equipment will show that this is a sport that kids in Cranbrook really want to have the chance to participate in.”
In order to make the program a long-term reality, Herrick says that support from the community is absolutely vital.
“We really want this to be a community program [and] don’t want to limit participation by having high registration fees,” he said. “In order to keep costs down and ensure that our kids are wearing safe and proper equipment, the Rams will be purchasing the equipment.
“Right now our biggest challenge is the initial investment in equipment for an entire roster. We are looking for community partners to support this program and these kids so that we can have a sustainable program for years of future football players.”
Anyone looking to register for the Rams program or find out more information is asked to visit rmrfootball.ca.