The St. Albert U15 rugby club blew out the competition to win the provincial championship over the weekend.
The squad beat the Calgary Canucks team with a final score of 55-10.
Head Coach Derrek Seelinger said that he was extremely proud of the boys' game and their performance on and off the field.
“It just swells my heart with pride,” Seelinger said.
“After that game on Saturday I was at a little bit of a loss for words as to how well they played as a team.”
The boys travelled to Calgary after winning a close game against the Nor’Westers for the city championship just the week before with a final score of 12-5.
Seelinger said that going into the game against the Canucks the squad was a bit nervous, because the team had done so well in the regular season and had experience with more teams.
During the regular season the Canucks played in a eight-team league, going undefeated the entire year. They played 10 games and allowed an average of 10 points against per game. The St. Albert U15 club only played in a three-team league and Seelinger said that he was worried going into the provincial final they would be out-matched by the southern team’s experience.
“We were a little worried about going into the provincial final against the Canucks who have seven other teams in their league, that they would be a little bit more prepared and a little more seasoned, but that wasn’t really the case,” Seelinger said.
After less than ten minutes into the match the St. Albert squad was up three tries to zero and the coach said he knew that his team was on a roll.
“The boys really just bought into the system and committed to practices,” Seelinger said.
The success in their season has been due to great teamwork, and well-rounded players on and off the pitch. Some of the players on the team were spending their first year with rugby after coming from other sports like cheerleading and gymnastics.
Seelinger said that he was so proud to see the boys behaviour on and off the field throughout the entire season and said their respect for their opponents and referees made him gush with pride.
“It's not the wins and losses at the end of the day matter to us. This championship is a bonus. It is watching these kids grow as individuals, as athletes and as rugby players,” Seelinger said.
The squad started working together in December and set a goal at their first training session to win city championships.
“It feels awesome for these young men to set a goal and achieve that goal in the way that they did,” Seelinger said.
Along with feeling proud of his team, Seelinger is optimistic and excited about rugby in St. Albert. The head coach helped out at Bellerose High School this year and said it is exciting to see so many amazing young teams doing so well.
“I really like the feeling in this community where rugby is going with the youth,” Seelinger noted.
“Rugby is ingrained in the fabric of this community. It really is.”
Seven players from the U15 squad are heading up to Grande Prairie for the Alberta Summer Games this weekend.
