The head coach of the Eric Hamber Griffins is talking a hard line and talking tough. The AA varsity program launched at the Oak Street high school four seasons ago, and Bobby Gibson will no longer call the Griffins an expansion team. Gone is the label and with it excuses.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of time over the years where we鈥檝e been a new program and were young and didn鈥檛 have players,鈥� Gibson said Friday afternoon after a 14-0 loss at home to the Timberline Wolves. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not making any excuses any more.鈥�
Timberline scored on the final play of the third quarter after a gritty, evenly played stalemate. In the fourth frame, the Griffins began to break.
The coach鈥檚 post-game talk did not cheerfully emphasize the reasons each player could be proud of his commitment and efforts. In years one, two and even year three last season when the Griffins were placed in the more competitive Tier I, Gibson motivated his charges with characteristic optimism.
The buoyant tone from last season has been subdued, subbed out for a message more difficult to hear and deliver.
Don鈥檛 be satisfied, Gibson warns the Griffins.
鈥淚f you expect to win, you play like a winner,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou should expect that and if it doesn鈥檛 happen, you shouldn鈥檛 be happy about that.鈥�
Hamber wasn鈥檛 ready to move to the higher tier in 2012, said the coach, but the decision was out of his control as it has been with other teams in the past. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 ready for it,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ast year was a really difficult season for us.鈥�
In five regular season games, the Griffins鈥� high point came with the single touchdown they scored in a 6-49 loss to Belmont on Sept. 28. They allowed their opponents 229 points.
No one on the roster is looking back, least of all quarterback James Hanoomansingh. He embraces what his coach is saying.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 continue to make excuses,鈥� he wrote to the Courier. 鈥淲e know what we are up against and we need to accept it, play hard and try to win games. There is no point dwelling on what we don鈥檛 have. I am just glad we have a team.鈥�
The right-handed pivot is also the Griffins鈥� safety on defence because, like all players, he has to go both ways. On Friday against Timberline, the Griffins started with 17 players 鈥� two more than the week before 鈥� but lost four to injury during the game.
Adding to the injuries, the familiar faces of former players looked down from the stands. Gibson pointed them out to the Griffins who still donned their school colours. Playing is hard, he told them. Commitment is hard.
鈥淪itting up in the stands is easy,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to be a spectator and be the critic in the stands. There鈥檚 lots of guys up where who say, 鈥業 shoulda played and I coulda played.鈥欌��
Hanoomansingh, now in Grade 12, was one of five quarterbacks last year but after some graduated and others didn鈥檛 return, the starting spot is his. Walking away from the team after a challenging 2012 season was not something he considered, he said.
鈥淚 love football and I don鈥檛 think anyone who quit can say the same,鈥� said the 17-year-old. I value the game and know that high school was and will probably be my only opportunity to play tackle football. There is no way that I can pass up on that opportunity, regardless of the team鈥檚 struggles.
鈥淣o one likes losing and I don鈥檛 enjoy it. But if we go out there with the numbers we have and truly give it our all, I can鈥檛 ask for any more from my team. If we don鈥檛 get the win, I am not totally satisfied but I am not going to get too down about it. I will only be upset if I feel like I haven鈥檛 done my best of if others on the team haven鈥檛 given it all.鈥�
With comments like these, it鈥檚 understandable why Gibson identifies Hanoomansingh as a natural leader.
鈥淗e has everything else that you could want in a quarterback but he鈥檚 come into it late and he hasn鈥檛 had a lot of time to develop his throwing,鈥� said Gibson. 鈥淭he leadership qualities that he has, you just don鈥檛 teach those. Even as a guy who had never played quarterback, last year he jumped into the huddle and everybody snapped to attention. If he had a better arm, he鈥檇 have schools asking him to go play for them.鈥�
Hanoomansingh, six-foot tall and 180 pounds, doesn鈥檛 want for confidence, the coach said, noting swagger is an important trait in a winning QB. 鈥淭he reality is you need a bit of that if you鈥檙e going to be running a football team.鈥�
The Eric Hamber student council will host a pep rally for the Griffins homecoming 3:30 p.m. Friday before they host Moscrop in the final exhibition game of the pre-season.
Watch for Bobby Gibson in the opening scene of this student council video:
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