“Individual Commitment to a team effort…that’s what makes a team work.” – Vince Lombardi
It was as though Vince Lombardi’s famous quote was meant specifically for the Timberline Wolves football team as they stepped onto the field to face their Vanier rivals last Friday night under the lights.
After hours of intense competition, the scoreboard showed a Timberline victory of 20-6, but what some onlookers may not have understood was the victory for the Timberline Football Team was much more than the score on the board.
Mid-August, school football teams are allowed to start practicing. A few days before practices were scheduled to start, the Timberline team was told there would be no football program in Campbell River this year. The core group of young men has played football together since pee wee…and this was to be their senior year!
Stunned, the team gathered to talk over their options…but as the idea of all the players moving to different schools out of town to play seemed like the only viable option with such short notice, the Wolves decided they would not move – they would stick together and they would find a way to remain Timberline Wolves – they would not give up.
With the help of their coaches, parents and supporters, they found a way to meet every challenge and solve every problem - no whining, no complaining, no excuses. And Friday night, as the crowd cheered and the coaches yelled and the plays were called, each young man did his job, whether it was to deliver or protect or catch or carry.
The next Timberline football game is Saturday, Oct 6 at 1:30 p.m. at Timberline field.