North, to Alaska.
That’s the direction, and the destination, Hugh Boyd’s senior football team will be heading to when they kick-off the 2015 season.
In a unique collaborative venture, the team will be travelling in late August with South Surrey’s Earl Marriott Mariners to play a doubleheader against two schools from Juneau. The Trojans will take on the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears, while Marriott will play the Thunder Mountain Falcons.
The teams will leave from Seattle together on Aug. 25 and run joint practices when they arrive, as well on Aug 26-27. The games are slated for Aug. 28 and the teams return home the following day.
“As far as I know, this is a first for high school football in B.C., with two schools travelling together,” said Trojan head coach Bill Haddow. “We are really looking forward to sharing this experience with coach Michael Mackay-Dunn, his assistants, and his Marriott team.”
The Mariners made a trip to Alaska a couple of years ago and had an extended 10 day trip where they squeezed in a couple of games.
“Mike had told me about what a great trip they had, and how much fun the kids had on it. Alaska has been on our radar for a while. Other B.C. schools have gone there over the years, and have spoken positively about it,” continued Haddow.
As well as it being a unique travel/game destination, there is an added incentive to go to Alaska for a game: the home teams provide money for the visiting teams to come and play.
“There are not a lot of options for teams from that area to play games, so they ‘entice’ teams to come up by offering funding to help cover travel costs. We have both been promised the gate receipts from our games, which they have said will be $5000 for each of us,” said Haddow. “That is something that you don’t get when travelling to and playing within the continental United States.”
There will be more than football to occupy the kids’ time and attention too.
The educational rationale includes the following: International exchange with students from a unique part of the continent, science, geology, geography, environment, anthropology and history.
Among other things, the student-athletes will visit the Mendenhall Glacier, take part in ocean expeditions, and explore the wilderness in the area.
“On first blush, going to Alaska does not appear to have the same appeal as the other places we have travelled to in the past: San Diego, Anaheim, Houston. But this a place where probably none of our kids have ever been, and may never go. I’m 56, and I’ve never been near Alaska, so I’m really looking forward to it,” added Haddow. “And these kids are going to get an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
The team will be prepping for the trip during their spring practices in late May – early June, and in mid August as part of their preparation for the season as a whole. The Trojans are coming off an impressive 2014 that saw them reach the provincial AA quarter-finals and have a number of key players returning.
If students are planning on attending Boyd in September and playing football, and are interested in taking part in the trip, they should contact Coach Haddow at [email protected].
