Badger Fever

“Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.” - Vince Lombardi

The Bonners Ferry varsity football team has taken the field, and both the coaching staff and the athletes are excited to take on all their opponents. This group has played together since the sixth grade, and they are coming into their own both on and off the field. Each player is settling into his position, and the cohesion of the team and the coaches is evident.

The foundation for a great player begins at home. Parents have a great responsibility and provide their child the opportunity to play as part of a team. And once that decision is made, you board a train that doesn’t stop for anything! Parents also offer the stability needed to give the player emotional strength and fortitude that comes out while grinding it out on the field.

Next comes the role of coaches — those amazing individuals who give of their time - mostly unpaid - and pour their hearts into “their” young men with zeal and enthusiasm. Coaches are often criticized because of certain decisions made on the field, but at the end of the day their decisions are final. And good coaches take their own good and bad decisions and make changes so the players can have more success.

The third part of the equation are the players. These young men dedicate their bodies to the hardships of a rough game. The players who excel are those who give more than the next guy — they are the ones who use the off season to improve at football. Many join the track team where they can work on getting faster. Those same driven individuals hit the gym and put on muscle. And then there are those who go to pre-season football camps to hone their skill-set in a professional environment. Then, in the summer, it is time for football to begin.

And finally the magical time comes — the first game. This year our first varsity game was at home against Priest River. This game would be a non-league game as we play them at another time later in the season. Right off the line we started strong and they fought back. The score vacillated back and forth. With only a few seconds left on the clock, we were ahead 24 to 18 and they had the ball. In a nail-biting finish our defense held and we won the opener. The crowd in the stands gave a cheer that could be heard up in Paradise Valley for sure. The magic was back. We won the game. Everyone was fired up at the possibilities ahead.

Our next game was another non-league game against the Newport Grizzlies. This is a team that has decimated our team for the past several years, and they came out ready to play. The big difference this year, however, is that our coaches and players also believed they could win. Belief is a powerful stimulant and our boys came out fighting. By the first half we were down 13 to 3, but our guys were not discouraged and come back after halftime to take the lead 17 to 13. The Grizzlies scored once more and made their point after attempt to make the score 20-17. Then an unfortunate turn of events for our team, when quarterback Caleb Stockton suffered an injury in the red zone just before we could score. He is also the long-snapper for our field goal squad, and when we attempted the kick the Grizzlies got in and blocked it. We lost the game, but moral was still high as everyone knew we had played well. The dedication to conditioning is paying off.

Our coaches are busy guys and each are to be applauded for their efforts thus far in the season. This year’s head coach is Cory Kramer who shared some of his passion for the game in a recent interview.

Q: How long have you been involved with coaching football? “This is my first season as varsity head coach. I have been coaching football since 1995 — the last 4 years at the high school and before that at the jr high. Also along with Coach Richards we started the 5th and 6th program.”

Q: What is your favorite part of coaching football? “The challenge for sure. But seeing young men overcome challenges and have success is very rewarding to me. It is not always about wins and losses.”

Q: If you had one quote you love... about coaching or football... what is it? “Believe it can be done. When you truly believe with all of your heart and mind that something can be done, your mind will find ways to do it.”

The other coaches are Cory Richards, Don Alt, Kevin Stockton, Chris Sabin, and weight-training advisor and coach Mike Davis.

As a community we want to say, “Thank You!” to all of the coaches and their families and the amazing young men who make up the teams and their families. You are doing a great job, and we all are looking forward to a great season.

#lifecommunity #sports #local