COCHRANE— Although there was no opportunities for competition in 2020, the winning spirit within the Cochrane Cobras is alive and well.
Head coach Robbie McNab and defensive back coach, special teams’ coach and assistant defensive coordinator Tom Knitter each received an award for their stalwart efforts in keeping the football program rolling at Cochrane High.
In lieu of its usual Head Coach of the Year Award, Football Alberta decided to dole out awards for “keeping the lights on” in football programs across the province.
McNab said at the onset of the season he and the rest of the program’s architects were “100 per cent in,” right off the bat.
“We want to keep the culture of the Cochrane Cobras alive, and I think when you skip a year you definitely can drain the culture, and you don’t know what you have, if you can get that culture back,” he said. “We made a decision just to jump right in and the kids were fabulous.”
McNab said that the seniors enrolled in the program were instrumental in that process, because they are key in passing on the traditions, winning attitude and everything else that goes along with football.
McNab said looking back at the season he feels that it was a successful year, and they accomplished what they set out to do.
“I definitely think that we gave the young kids— And I mean the kids in Grade 10 and 11— A really, really good taste of what your responsibility is as a Cochrane High Cobra,” he said. “It’s not just football, it’s how you conduct yourself in school, how you conduct yourself at home, how you conduct yourself with your friends, all those things. I think we did that because it’s showing in our building. Our younger kids are showing some leadership.”
The team faced a year of uncertainties and obstacles, McNab said, and he was proud of the way his players overcame the challenges that came their way.
“I’ve been coaching for 35 years, and it is something that none of us, this world, has ever faced,” he said. “With the uncertainties, I think we did, as a group, a very admirable job.”
This award is one accolade in a long list that McNab has won, and while he said he was happy to receive the recognition, he was especially thrilled for his defensive counterpart.
“You feel good, I’m not going to lie, but at the same time I felt really good for Tom Knitter. I’ve won my fair share of awards over the years,” he said.
Knitter is a Cobras alumni himself, and was coached under McNab while he was a student at Cochrane High.
McNab said he’s been impressed with the way Knitter has developed over the years.
“There’s a lot of football guys out there, but is there program guys? He’s really starting to evolve as a program guy. It’s bigger than him going out on the field at four o’clock and leaving at five thirty. He’s really seeing it through,” he said. “Technology, film, interaction with the kids, showing leadership at lunch. I think he’s really evolving as head coach material.”
Knitter said that the award felt like validation for the hard work everyone involved with the Cobras invested over this particularly challenging year.
“I think the unfortunate thing this year is that we’re not able to go out a compete for a championship, and I look at recognition like this as certification that our program— It's some justice for our program because we’ve got a lot of individuals that contribute to the success of our team.”
When considering how much it meant to the senior athletes on the roster, Knitter said the thought of sitting this season out was intolerable.
“Once we thought about those guys not potentially having a season, or having a very different type of season, we as coaches made the decision that we wanted to give them the best that we could. We wanted to give them some aspect of normality during this time period,” he said.
As alumni of the program, Knitter said he felt like he was able to recognize how important having a capstone season is to a Grade 12 athlete.
“I felt like we owed something to that senior group of athletes. Those are guys that have won two provincial championships, we’ve had those guys for two off seasons, we’ve had them for two full seasons. I just felt like if I was in that position as an athlete, I would hope that my coaches would be able to give like we were able to.”
Knitter said in a year without the usual benchmarks of success like games won and championships brought home, the team had to adjust its goals to in order to keep the team on track and motivated.
“We’re a very goal driven team, we always have been, and I think that remains constant in the program,” he said. “We adjusted our goals, and again, we have such a good core of our program, our guys adjusted their goals and I thought we responded very well to that.”
Knitter said that he does not know what the upcoming season will look like, but feels confident that the Cobras winning spirit is alive and well.
“We’ve been preparing so that if the event happens and we are allowed to return to play, we will be ready,” he said. “If we get a season we will be prepared and we will put our athletes in the best position to be successful.”
To the families that nominated him and Knitter, and to the other parents who have showed put their faith in the Cochrane Cobras program, McNab said that he feels thankful.
“Anybody that shows support, we thank them for leaving their kids, their athletes, their young, impressionable people in our hands. For the most part, over all these years, these parents have left us with their kids, trusted us with their kids to do the right thing. It’s such a great culture there,” McNab said. “I so appreciate that over the years.
