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Gym Nights for 2008 draw best-ever attendance! For the eighth season in a row, the Wolverines have held their annual Gym Nights. And they were the best ever. We had between 55 and 60 players on each of the two evenings come out and visit the Wolverine coaches and executive. It was a great opportunity to showcase the Wolverine philosophy to prospective players and parents. We truly appreciate the effort that these folks showed in coming out and informing themselves on our program by talking to us, asking lots of questions and (hopefully) getting lots of answers. The next step in the process is registration and try-outs. Although we will be having formal Registration Days, the fact is that we are already actively registering players and we are very excited about the new players that are joining the team. We invite any and all to contact either Coach Smith, Coach Bannink or Registrar Jody Streitmeier to get more information on how you can get registered for the 2008 season. Soon after, we will have our May tryouts and final selections. Then it will be holiday time until mid-July when camp starts, in preparation for the season start on the weekend of August 9. For more information, contact Coach Scott Smith at 449-7246 or Click here to E-mail.
Wolverines Announce Coaching Changes for the 2008 Season The Wolverines have announced to the press that Shaun Bannink will be joining the Wolverine Bantam coaching staff for the 2008 season in the position of Co-Head Coach. Wolverine President Connie Bishop, in one of her first duties as the newly-elected President of the Sherwood Park minor football club, announced that Coach Bannink is returning to the team after a two-year absence. During that time, he served as the Head Coach for the Bev Facey Falcons Junior Varsity squad. He was one of the original Wolverine coaches when the team was formed for the 2001 season, serving for four seasons as the Defensive Coordinator. Following that, he served with the Wolverine Midgets as the Defensive Coordinator in 2005. From 2003 to 2007, Coach Bannink amassed an impressive record with the Facey Juniors, winning city championships in ’03 and ’07. He has also served as the Defensive Coordinator for two seasons with the Bev Facey Senior team. Coach Bannink has worked in the past with current Bantam Head Coach Scott Smith, most notably on the U-17 team, and he is currently on the defensive staff for the U-19 Senior Bowl team. He also won a Provincial High School Senior championship 2002 as the Offensive Line coach at Facey, and as defensive coordinator of the Falcon Senior team won the Northern title in 2005. He has also been appointed as the Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach for the 2008 Senior Bowl team.
Smith is also excited about working with Coach Bannink. “Any time that you can get a coach like Shaun, you grab him,” he said. “His credentials are indeed impressive, and the fact that he has such a firm foundation with the Wolverines is just an added bonus.” “I am certainly pleased that the Wolverines have asked me to assume this position,” said Bannink. “This is definitely a positive step for me. The thing that most attracted me to the Wolverines is that although the club has changed so much since we started out from those humble beginnings in 2001, at least in terms of our maturity as an organization, we still today maintain those same core values that the team started out with and that have proven to be so successful. This is a wonderful organization, and I am very proud to be a part of it once again. It's like coming home for me. We’re the defending league champions, and it’s going to be a tough title to defend. But it’s a task that I look forward to with relish and anticipation.” Welcome home, Shaun! Football Alberta Announces Regular Season Tiering In response to an initiative by the CDMFA, Football Alberta has instituted province-wide tiering during regular season play. The new system will apply at the Bantam and PeeWee levels. CDMFA President Wojtek Wojcicki recently informed the CDMFA Board of Directors that Football Alberta has made this a requirement for all leagues. There will be four tiers, I through IV. CDMFA, Calgary and Southern Alberta will compete at all levels. Other leagues will declare at which level or levels they will compete at. This is a major step forward, and has not been without controversy. However, last season truly highlighted the fact that there was a need to address the lack of competitive balance within the league. As the number of teams grows and more players take part, the need for regular season tiering has become ever more apparent. The details of exactly how the new system will function have not been announced. When these details become available, we will post them here.
Bantam Newspaper Articles "Wolverines Foil Fury" -- Sher. Pk. News, Aug. 29, 2007
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and the Lloydminster Chargers out of the Border City.
PeeWee and Bantam Levels.
When making the announcement, Bishop said, “The Wolverines are thrilled to welcome Shaun back to our coaching staff. He is a proven leader, a high quality coach and he knows what it takes to get players ready for high school. Shaun’s local high school team was undefeated in 2006 regular season play, and won the Edmonton area (Premier Conference) championship in 2007. Shaun has been coaching in Sherwood Park for several years and is an outstanding coaching talent. Past players recognize him for developing their potential and creating a strong unified team.”
