The Westlock Thunderbirds are going back to the drawing board after a 43-8 road loss to the Vermilion Marauders Sept. 16. The game sinks the club to 0-2 on the year and fifth place in the Wheatland Football League's Pool ‘ A'.
The Westlock Thunderbirds are going back to the drawing board after a 43-8 road loss to the Vermilion Marauders Sept. 16.
The game sinks the club to 0-2 on the year and fifth place in the Wheatland Football League's Pool ‘ A'.
Despite the result, head coach Jon Kramer said the loss is a big improvement over their 53-0 defeat at the hands of the Bonnyville Voyageurs Sept. 9, and he still has high hopes for the season.
“Every week it's about growth. In the last few years we've had a very good football team as far as wins and losses and players who've played a lot of football,” Kramer said.
“We've found out how young we are in the last couple of weeks. Even for us coaches, some of the things we didn't think we needed to coach, we've had to go back and do it again.”
A big part of those improvements, Kramer added, will be helping the team gear up mentally.
“It's about learning to match intensity. The last few years, intensity was just kind of a given in the players and the attitude that we had,” Kramer said.
That mental component will be especially important for the Thunderbirds at their Sept. 23 home game versus the Cold Lake Royals.
Cold Lake defeated Vermilion 35-14 Sept. 9, but Kramer said he still feels like the T-Birds can put their best foot forward with a little work on basic strategy.
“We've watched the film. They had a close game with Vermilion. Intensity can cover a lot of mistakes on the football field, whether it's Xs and Os or fumbles.”
Though the upcoming game against Cold Lake will have a major impact on their season, Kramer said that looking too far ahead to a championship won't help them win games today.
“The goal is to win championships, but with our program and in high school football, you have to go a week at a time,” he said, adding that teamwork will be a big part of pulling through Friday with a win.
“It's about how we can develop them individually as players, getting to know each other relationally and caring about each other and building those relationships,” he said.
“This will be a big game for us.”
