Starting the season as the underdogs, the Alberni District Secondary School (ADSS) boys’ rugby team came back to win the junior division last week in a Nanaimo 7’s Tournament.
“We’ve become much better than we were at the start of the season,” said team manager Mark Randall.
The team’s season began in late March with their first game against Nanaimo District Secondary School. Nanaimo beat ADSS but Randall said even in that first game he could tell the team was improving from start to finish.
“They got better through the first game but it was a little bit rough to start,” he said. “They’ve just really turned it on and have been phenomenal. Their growth throughout the season has been really, really good.”
ADSS went on to beat Shawnigan Lake, Brentwood and Vanier’s junior rugby teams in their last three of four regular season games.
On Thursday, May 11 ADSS are heading to Brentwood Bay to play for the North Island Championship.
“The team is extremely talented athletically, there’s a lot of raw talent,” Randall said. “They’ve also come together very well as a team…they’re always pushing their limits as far as what they’re capable of.”
Randall said in recent years players from the Port Alberni Black Sheep Rugby team have began coaching elementary school students which has helped in getting kids familiar with the game and prepared for high school teams.
“I would say the Black Sheep have been very instrumental in our success this year,” Randall said.