2007 BC High School Football Thread

[Robbie]

I have decided to create this thread on a whim because I'm curious to see how much discussion there will actually be on this topic and since there have been other threads created for local sports teams, then for the sake of fairness there should be a thread for this topic too.

In the three years that I've participated in this forum, I only recall one thread that was used to discuss BC High School football. And that was a thread that I created exactly two years ago today not to discuss BC high school football per se but rather, to compare Canadian high school football with American high school football because there had been some recent discussion on comparing football between the two countries on a professional and college level.

http://www.lionbackers.com/cheer/viewtopic.php?t=7467

The official BC High School Football web site:

http://www.bchighschoolfootball.com

indicates that there are five high school football leagues in the province:

AAA Varsity
AA Varsity
AAA JV
AA JV
Grade 8

One disturbing aspect about high school football in British Columbia is that throughout the last few decades, it seems to have lost popularity and many schools that once boasted great football teams no longer have them. Among the public high schools in Vancouver, Britannia, Killarney, and most recently John Oliver once had popular football teams but they've all disappeared. And Richmond Secondary won three Provicial championships from 1996 to 1998, but just two years later in 2000 their football program ended because of lack of interest. I suppose changing demographics are the greatest factor in lack of football interest as many schools tend to be more academic oriented now and others only have sports teams that cater to the interests of their student population, with football not being one of them. Lack of funding can certainly be another issue, although I would say it's secondary compared to lack of student interest.

Within Vancouver, only private high schools like Vancouver College and Notre Dame have football teams, and only suburban public high schools have them.

Here are some notable alumni who played football in various BC High Schools

Vancouver College
Angus Reid
Bryan Chiu
Sean Fleming
Rob LeBlanc
Kevin Eiben
Jamie Boreham
Peter Dyakowski
Bob Ackles

John Oliver
John Pankratz

Terry Fox
Bret Anderson
Chris Szarka

Notre Dame
Lui Passaglia

Having said that, BC High School football still exists for discussion. Are any Lionbackers currently playing high school football or have sons who are on their school's football team? Any predictions on who will win this year's Provincial championships?

[QB#9]

One disturbing aspect about high school football in British Columbia is that throughout the last few decades, it seems to have lost popularity and many schools that once boasted great football teams no longer have them.

It is also growing in popularity in other parts. I played for Mission Secondary for three years. The popularity for the sport was continuing to grow and we finally got a team in 2003 (my grade 10 year). I know that there was a few other teams that joined a year or two earlier aswell. I do agree with you about the funding. I believe that is the major factor that affects the decision to get a team or get rid of a team. Not all students can afford the price that some programs will charge so you loose student interest as well.

[AAA29]

If anybody is intrested in having mini helmets made for you high school, I can make them.I have made them for many schools in the U.S. and would love to do some for some Canadian schools.
my companys web site is http://www.bridensports.com you can e-mail me at aaron@bridensports.com

[Dan_Payne_fan!!]

Dan Payne went to Terry Fox as Well