Where some see misfortune, others see opportunity.
Things were looking bleak earlier this year when it was decided by the Cochrane Lions Football Club not to field a midget team due to lack of participants.
The club, which has operated for more than 25 years, was not deterred and instead came up with a unique event to accommodate football players: Friday Night Lights.
Taking its name from the infamous football movie and television series, the purpose of the program is to give players of all ages a place to play the game they love on Fridays over the spring and summer.
“After the difficult decision to cancel the midget team this year, we came up with this event instead of doing a weekend camp,” said Paul Vaillancourt, Lions board member and bantam head coach. “We want to encourage new and returning players to come out every Friday, have fun, and be coached by some great people.”
The event – which is scheduled to begin on May 13 and run 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. until the end of June – is a way for the Lions organization to reach out to the community and let people know they are still here despite the lack of a midget team.
“We wanted to make sure our club continues to attract the right number of players,” Vaillancourt said. “There’s a couple other programs right on our borders like the Rage and Springbank, so we want to continue to get our program out there.
“Also, it’s a great way of leveraging the Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field, which we’re quite proud of.”
When asked if this was a way to make sure potential players didn’t go to other clubs, Vaillancourt was adamant that wasn’t the case.
“No,” he said. “Our club has been around for a long time and we just want to make sure everyone is aware of the options. Our goal was to try something new for our spring program.”
Vaillancourt (who also coaches baseball) and the Lions are also aware of the fact many football players are multi-sport athletes, so having a Friday session instead of weekend camps is a great way to accommodate their schedules.
“The reality is a lot of the best athletes in town play multiple sports,” he said. “A lot of football players are baseball players and vice-versa, so we knew running stuff on the weekend wouldn’t fit with some of these guys.
“We are all about accommodating the athletes.”
For more information on Friday Night Lights, visit cochranefootball.com
