One of the primary linchpins behind the re-birth of the Foothills Lions rugby club has stepped down from his coaching duties.
Darcy Gallant was the catalyst behind the re-introduction of the Foothills Lions in December 2009 after a chance encounter with Joe Buck, the driving force of the Lions youth academy.
“I still remember the day, and you can thank Joe Buck, it was a fluke while I was refereeing basketball and he went on about this great junior program out here,” Gallant recalled at the Lions’ awards banquet on Sept. 8. “I went home and, not a word of a lie, my wife said ‘why don’t you start up a men’s club?’ It snowballed from there and I don’t have many regrets.”
The Lions were previously in existence in the foothills from the 1970s until 1995.
Under the leadership of Gallant, as men’s rugby head coach, the Lions had a strong first season in 2010 led by terrific athletes in Spencer Watkins and Jeff Hassler and qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural third division campaign in the Calgary Rugby Union (CRU).
Foothills carried the momentum into their second season, winning six of their first eight games and looked poised to make the playoffs for a second year in a row. However, four straight loses to close the schedule put a sour note on a promising start and the Lions were spectators for the playoffs.
In 2012, the Lions added a second division club to their roster as a means to accommodate the growth of the sport in the Foothills.
Both the second and third division teams struggled in the CRU in 2012 and finished near the bottom of the league standings.
The 37-year-old Gallant said the Lions should have two trophies on their mantle.
“The first year we were the best team in the league and I kind of screwed up and I got suspended, we got fined and it kind of screwed our mojo,” said Gallant, who was ruled to have changed a game sheet in 2010. “We ended up losing in the playoffs.”
“Last year again I thought we had the best team in the league and we just kind of fell apart down the stretch.”
At the end of the 2012 season Gallant told the Lions players he’s confident they can reach the apex of men’s rugby.
“You guys are ready to take that next step and I’m not saying that I couldn’t be the guy to bring that step,” said Gallant who will remain as a forward for the Lions. “But I’m not in the right timeframe of my life to make that commitment.”
Gallant and his wife Vicki have two young children, Wesley and Anderson, rendering openings for rugby in his schedule all the more difficult.
Lions club president Paul Hudon said there simply weren’t enough hours in the day for Gallant to fulfill all of his duties on and off the pitch.
Gallant and the Lions’ board of directors are now aggressively pursuing a new head coach and director of the Lions’ program, a position they would like to have filled in the next three months.
The commitment requirements for the post are considerable.
“We need someone that is available full-time, there’s the four months where we’re actually running the program from May until August,” Hudon said. “There’s a number of clubs that are soliciting coaches in a paid capacity, we don’t have a budget for that so we’re looking for a volunteer.”
Those interested in applying for the position or for more information can contact Paul Hudon at 403-978-9575 or via email at [email protected]
