There's a big movement happening in Lively right now as a group of school officials, students and parents are trying to establish a football team for the fall.
The group is being lead by teacher Todd Tate, who is also organizing several fundraising efforts to help the team cover equipment and field costs.
They need to raise about $22,000 to get the program off the
ground and running.
Tate and company aren't just waiting for funds to be
dropped in their laps. The group has been out selling chocolate
bars and banging on doors in the rural community to try and
generate interest and awareness.
"We're looking for sponsors," said Tate. "We have no set
amounts...every little bit counts and means a lot. The
community approached the school about starting a team. We all
know it will help boost community spirit."
The school already has a volunteer coaching staff in place and
38 eager students have already signed up to play. This amount
doesn't even reflect the incoming Grade 9 students in the
fall who might want to give football a shot as well, which will
only add to the numbers.
"The high school league is behind us," said Tate. "They've
all expressed their support. We will be filling a big void left
by the Sudbury Secondary School, which has ended it's
football program."
The town of Lively has already stepped up to back their boys.
Murray Fielding came forth with a private donation of $3,000,
and the goal to reach $22,000 is well on its way.
"We're about a third of the way to reaching our goal," said
Tate. "There's been no team here for 18 years...we're
starting from scratch. We are all confident we will reach our
goals and have a team on the field in the fall."
Anyone interested in helping Lively realize their dream can
contact Tate at Lively High School at 692-3671.
In other high school sports news, Notre-Dame Alouettes senior
girls' hockey player Manon Davis was recently honoured with
the B. DeStefano Memorial award as the leading scorer for all
Division I players.
Davis had a remarkable year with 30 goals and 39 points in just 12 games. Her efforts helped Notre-Dame go 12-0 in the regular season and finish first overall. By winning the award, Davis joins some elite company as past winners include Tessa Bonhomme and Rebecca Johnston.
