BRANTFORD BISONS PREPARE FOR SPRING SEASON

The Brantford Bisons are ready to go for the 2010 Spring Season with three teams entered in the Ontario Varsity Football League and three teams in the Ontario Minor Football League. This is the first year that the Bisons have run six teams out onto the field during the spring, evidence of the increasing popularity of tackle football.The Bisons will begin game action in the OMFL during the long week-end while the OVFL kicks off at the end of May. All the home games will be played at the Bisons Alumni Football Complex located at the Gretzky Centre.

OVFL Varsity:
Head Coach—Dan Padmore: Dan Padmore is the most experienced coach selected and will lead the OVFL Varsity team. With over eight years of head coaching experience, he has one championship and is looking forward to this year after a disappointing 1-7 record last year.
“Looking at the kids who have signed up so far I’m confident that our team will do much better this year,” Padmore said. “I sense that this year’s players have a renewed commitment to the hard work and dedication that is necessary to gain a winning record in this very tough division. We should be able to make a real push for the playoffs this year.”

OVFL Jr. Varsity:
Head Coach—Illyas Zylstra: IIyas Zylstra is making his head-coaching debut and will lead the OVFL Jr. Varsity squad. With a championship as a Bisons player and two high school titles as an offensive coordinator for the Brantford Collegiate Mustangs, Zylstra brings plenty of experience to the table as a head coach and has a full complement of players to compete against very tough Division opponents.
“This year I believe that we have a quality coaching staff that will teach the players the fundamentals of the game and to play every single down with heart, pride, and respect,” Zylstra said. “I’m looking forward to bringing back a championship to the team that I originally played for.”

OVFL Peewee:
Head Coach—Don Hamilton: Don Hamilton will lead the OVFL peewee team. A head coach with five years of experience with one championship under his belt, he led his team last fall to a solid 4-4 record even though injuries had decimated his team.
“Our team has tons of talent and the benefit of a larger pool of players to choose from compared to the fall,” Hamilton said. “We should be able to compete with any team in the division this year without question.”

OMFL Bantam:
Head Coach—Ron Wilcock: Ron Wilcock is a long time Bisons coach who conducted a strong recruiting drive this spring. It looks like his efforts have paid off as the Bantam team is now one of the favourites to play all the way to the Championship game.
“The players who answered the call to come play for our team are all natural athletes with a number of years football experience. I am looking forward to a very successful season.” commented Wilcock.

OMFL Peewee:
Head Coach—James Kelly: James Kelly is another rookie coach and the youngest of all the spring coaches. Kelly will lead the OMFL peewee squad but will have a bevy of experienced assistant coaches who have over six championships between them to offer Kelly good advice as the season progresses. The team is a talented group, with many Bison award winners on the roster and should continue to find the success that last year’s team experienced. Most of the players have been teammates for five years, including the undefeated championship season of 2006.
“I’m excited to be selected as the head coach of the OMFL Peewees and am counting on a successful season,” Kelly said. “Last year the team in this division made it to the championship game but fell just short. This year I want to bring that trophy home.”

OMFL Atom:
Head Coach—Justin Van Every: Justin Van Every is a Bisons coach who has a tremendous experience coaching players in this age group. The OMFL Atom age players have been mostly recruited from Tyke age players so should gain a wealth of experience playing in the Atom Division under the stewardship of Van Every.
“This is the perfect age group to coach because you can watch the kids develop their football skills as the season unfolds.” Said Van Every. “I want to make sure the players have fun but also learn how to play their proper positions so they will be even better when they get older.” Van Every added.
The spring season looks to be jammed packed with action almost every week-end. The Bisons will be matching Brantford and the surrounding area’s all-stars with the best that other communities have to offer. Football doesn’t get any better then that.