The Cochrane Cobras football club was hard at work during their annual spring camp on June 5 to 13 in preparation for the upcoming season in the fall. After an undefeated season in which Cochrane High won all six Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) regular season games, and all four Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) Provincial games including including a 21-14 victory in the final over the Holy Rosary Raiders on Nov. 24. In those 10 games, the Cobras outscored their opponents by an astounding margin of 414-53, where Cochrane High averaged 41 points per game while never giving up more than 14 points en route to the team’s fourth straight provincial championship. The team is looking for five straight – sixteen overall – provincial championships and co-head coach Rob McNab said the spring camp is a good stepping stone for the players in order to prepare for the first practice on Aug. 27, the yearly jamboree as well as the remainder of the team's schedule. "The thing about spring camp, is it gets you ready for the season in the fall. We get the equipment handed out, get the fees and team trip straightened out so when we show up on Aug. 27, we're ready to go," McNab said with a snap of his fingers. "Us as a coaching staff, we really liked what we saw from the camp. We did a really good job with the Grade 9s this year and getting them out to the weight room early in December, which they've stuck with. I think six or seven of them are playing at the Alberta Summer Games which is really good. Those are a talented group of young players, but those are the kids that we need to get caught up in order to be ready to go in the fall." McNab said this current crop of Grade 9 players could be a special group when the season hits. "We track them down in gym classes and find those who played Bantam who have good attributes. I was really impressed with them ... we ended up keeping the largest team that we've had in recent memory with 56 kids. Now eight of those kids will be strictly on the red shirt (junior varsity) squad and the other 48 kids will be on the team. But overall, I was very impressed. It would be easy to have cut some kids but they made it very difficult to cut them," McNab said. "That's a really good group of kids and the one of the best groups (of Grade 9s) we've had in a long time. Dominic Mills, Ben Dobson, a very fast and athletic kid, Chase Hunt who's going to be spectacular at any position, Ty Metcalfe is another one as a receiver that will be very good. Those four kind of stand out, but everyone from that group will play a role on our team in one form or another." The Cobras will be losing some starters but McNab still expects his returning players to play a crucial role in how the season plays out for Cochrane High. "We're going to be young on offence, we're only going to have two Grade 12s in the skill spots, which will go to Dawson Laye and Dylan Neis ... but they're the right two to have. We're only going to be starting two Grade 12s on the offensive line, so really we're only starting four seniors on offence," McNab said. "But with that said, we're going to have a very talented group with Dawson Gladue and Jake Thompson, some of these guys ... wow. It should be a special group. I was also really impressed with the offensive linemen because I thought we were going to be small at that position, but they did a good job in the weight room." "Then defensively it should be a real strength for us. We have six Grade 12 defensive backs along and they're going to be a really strong group ... they were strong for us last year, but they're all a year older now so look out for them. The coaching staff is solid and probably the best we've had in years so the kids are going to receive some really good coaching." As for who will start at quarterback, McNab said the decision was extremely easy when deciding on who would be the team's signal caller. "Xavier Valliancourt hands down, 100 per cent. He's a special kid and he's going places. He's a very, very coach-able kid so that's why I know he's going places," McNab said of his future starting passer. "He's talented obviously and he still wants to learn week in and week out. He's like a sponge, always wanting to take in knowledge and he's going to work it ... he's excellent for sure and we're set at quarterback."
