Sports | DrumhellerMail

Football talent tested for post secondary consideration

    After the great showing of the Drumheller Titans in winning the provincial championship, the valley is building its reputation as a football hotbed.
   Last Friday, some of these players with aspirations of continuing with the game were given a unique opportunity to showcase their skills. Their audiences may be some of the top university and college programs in the country.
     Ron Laprise, who coached last season for the Titans, is also a part of All Star Football. He was joined by All Star Football founder and scouting director Ron Dias for the first Regional Combine in Drumheller.
   Combines are where the players are put through the paces with athletic and agility testing. These results give the players a snapshot of where they are in their own development. The information from the combines is also compiled and made available to colleges and universities to give them a look at up and coming players.
     Dias is based out of Waterloo, Ontario, and has been scouting for players for post secondary institutions for 24 years.
   “I run central scouting for all universities. I give universities an overview of high school football players based on the year they will enter university,” said Dias. “I give them an overview base on athletics and academics. It makes universities aware of kids they likely wouldn’t be aware of and secondly give kids an opportunity.”
   All Star Football was in Drumheller Friday night, and then in Edmonton on Saturday. On Sunday they are hosting the top 100 prospects in Red Deer.
   With the advent of the Badlands Community Facility, they have bigger plans for next season. Separate from a testing combine, they hope to host the top 100 players from rural Alberta in the valley for a camp. They have plans to also run a top city player camp.
   From these camps they would select the top 45 players from each and hold an urban versus rural all star game the next spring.
   About 15 players came out for Friday’s Combine including players from Hunting Hills School in Red Deer and Didsbury.
   “They are not all going to play football, this is not what it is all about. It is about educating them to understand there are opportunities out there, there is a place for you. You need education to have some opportunity in life,” said Dias. “Kids have to have some rocks in their pockets to weigh things their way.”

Dynos win season opener

    The DVSS senior boys Dynos basketball team is back on the court, and have already chalked up their first win.
   On Monday, December 5 the Dynos headed to Trochu to take on the Blue Jays in the Golden Hills League for their 2011-2012 season opener.
   The squad was down two key members from last year’s team due to injuries. This gave younger players a chance to step in and show they can contribute.
   Coach Jeff Messom said though the team looked rusty at times with their outside shooting, the Dynos still managed to take a 40 - 9 lead into half time. They were led by the strong play under the basket of Alex Cliche, Brock Boyd, and Michael Cameron, whose size provided a challenge for the smaller and undermanned Trochu Blue Jays.
   The second half provided similar problems for the Blue Jays as the Dynos continued to gobble up all the missed rebounds and continue their dominance on the boards and out scored their opponents 48 to 8. In the end the Dynos came away with an 88-17 victory.
   This weekend the Dynos are off to their first tournament of the season in Strathmore. League play continues for the team next Wednesday at PCA.

DVSS basketball building tradition

    It is time to exchange the gridiron for the cage, and at DVSS, they are building a basketball tradition.
   The Dynos are getting ready for the start of the 2011-2012 season. Their first game of the season is in Trochu on Monday, December 5. Their home opener is on December 21 versus Carbon.
   “This year's team is a good mixture of veterans and youth, who hope to continue and build upon the success of our boys basketball program,” said head coach Jeff Messom.
   The team has been building a tradition over the last few seasons. They recaptured the league championship last season by beating Acme and went on to win silver at zones. They earned a berth in provincials and finished in sixth place in the province.
   They have a strong core coming back this season, and have an exciting year planned, and much of that action will be close to home.
   For the first time in six years, the Dynos are hosting a home tournament. In fact, there will be three tournaments this season at DVSS. The Dynos will be hosting top teams on the weekend of January 13 and 14. They are hosting a second tournament the weekend of March 2-3, just a week before they play host to the Zone tournament on March 9 and 10.
   Another exciting event planned for the team is taking on the Harlem Crowns. This mix of basketball prowess, showmanship and gags is a crowd pleaser and will help the team financially through the season. This is slated for January 17.
   The success of the program is more than just wins and loses. It is building a team, and identity, and in turn developing strong character.
   “When it comes to boys' basketball at DVSS, we have always tried to promote the concept that this is more than just a team for that given year, but the players are part of something bigger, the Dynos basketball program. So in those initial years it was about developing an identity and a foundation of what represents Dynos basketball, a system of intensity, heart, hard work, and unity,” said Messom.
   Many of the players have taken these lessons and have continued with basketball. Over the last few years, nine Dynos have gone on to play basketball at the college level. They include Joe Browning, James Fournier, Jason Aiken, Gavin Pittman, Mitch Smith, Chad Molzan and Kyle Masson.
   Currently Tyler Fournier and Will Belliveau are playing at Kings University College under the guidance of Jesse McLean and Chad Pidhaichuk, who this year took over coaching the postsecondary team. Both were part of the Dynos program as Badlands Basketball.
   “I would attribute the success of these individuals to their character, dedication to hard work, and commitment, which they were able to take to the next level with them. And I believe it was these qualities from these individuals and other individuals who have been part of the program that have led to our success,” said Messom.
   He adds that many of the players give back to the program.
   “We believe success breeds success and in the last six years we have been fortunate that when a group of young men move on, another group the next year wants to step in and continue the success of the recent past,” said Messom. “When players have graduated, we have been fortunate that many of them want to remain vital part of the program’s success by coming back to help with spring league, basketball camps, or helping coach our teams at DVSS.”

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