Improved numbers are adding up to a brilliant start for the Foothills Lions.
Buoyed by the strong regional representation and a roster 32 players deep the Lions U17 girls are running roughshod in the Calgary Rugby Union with four comprehensive victories to start the summer season.
“We’re having a really good season, we’re number one right now,” said Lions coach Marcelle Tremblay. “Usually in the summer we have a very thin team, we have maybe 20 that register and 6, 7, 8 going on holiday during the summer.
“But having those new girls we now have 32 registered.”
The Junior Lions girls program has seen considerable growth over the past half decade, but that hasn’t always translated to strong numbers later in the summer with some talent being scooped up the Mavericks along with work and travel commitments coming into play.
This summer, the Lions are benefitting from a strong group of newcomers from the Nanton, Stavely and Vulcan region along with its existing talent pool from Okotoks, High River, Blackie and Black Diamond.
“A lot of us have been playing for quite some time, I know there are some that started in Grade 9, three, four years ago now,” said Lions back Aurora Steel, from Blackie. “To bring them all the way from Nanton, Stavely, Vulcan, like Makena (Wright), she came to our Las Vegas Academy and she loved it and now she’s brought half her high school team.”
Wright, who’s from Nanton and plays on the County Central Hawks high school rugby team in Vulcan, said the desire to get on the pitch more often prompted the decision to join the Lions.
“I was just looking for extra rugby to play so I went and did the academy with them,” she said. “I loved it and they said bring your friends, come play with us. I was looking for more rugby in the summer and told my friends it’s a really good program.
“Girls that love (rugby), they’re just a different breed. You can’t get enough of it. If I could play year round I would.”
The enthusiasm is paying dividends on the scoreboard.
Foothills is 4-0 in the CRU’s U17 girls division, outscoring its opposition by a massive margin.
“The girls side of rugby right now is amazing and stronger than ever,” Tremblay said. “They’re excited, they actually love playing against each other during high school, but they come up to me and say ‘I can’t wait for the season to start.’ They’re together pretty much all winter during academy, too, and we’ve got some good trips like Vegas.
“It’s really brought up some good tightness between the girls.”
Foothills tests its unblemished record on July 31 against the Calgary Hornets Yellow, a 7:45 p.m. start at the Calgary Rugby Park.
For more information go to foothillslionsrfc.org
