Six-a-side football is thriving in Northern Quebec

These three teams play a series of games competing in both tackle and flag football through July and August, each two weeks apart and hosted by a different team, leading up to the Big River Bowl in Chisasibi. Beyond the regular season and Big River Bowl there lies another opportunity for these athletes, namely the 6 Nations Challenge, an inter-provincial competition in which the James Bay Eagles bring in players from the other communities to represent Quebec. The 6 Nations Challenge is hosted by Ottawa this year, having called Charlottetown (2011) and Saskatoon (2010) home the previous two years.

The James Bay Eagles are a fourth year program ran by Head Coach Trevor Monaghan, second year Assistant Coach Michael Randazzo and first year Assistant Coach Samuel Randazzo. From the beginning of the program up to this point the Eagles have seen a plethora of coaches, mostly from the uOttawa football program and one from the Laval Rouge et Or. The longest working coaches in Cree Nations, aside from Coach Monaghan who has been developing the Eagles for much longer then they have been an official team, are Coaches Craig Bearss and Morgan Johnson-Koehn. Coach Bearss coached the Eagles for two seasons (2009,2010), including their inaugural year, before becoming the Head Coach of the Mistissini Mustangs. Bearss played 5 years as runningback at uOttawa, and has been their runningbacks coach the past two seasons.  In the past two seasons with mustangs, Bearss has co-ordinated on both sides of the ball. “I’ve tried to adapt the principles I’ve learned coaching university football to six-a-side football, and I’ve learned a lot about the six man game simply through time, experience, and trial and error.” Said Coach Bearss. Coach Johnson-Koehn coached the Eagles offensive and defensive lines for one season (2010) before joining Coach Bearss in founding the Mustangs, having traded coordinator roles with Bearss in the two seasons of their existence. Coach Devon Millar had one season with the Eagles (2011) before becoming the Head Coach of the Waswanipi Gladiators in their inaugural season of 2012. Every Coach currently involved in the league played their University football with the uOttawa Gee Gees. Coach Monaghan played in the late 1990s, and at one point was the oldest player in both the NCAA and CIS (edging out Heisman winner Chris Weinke). The common alma mater has helped form a brotherhood among the coaches that is evident in the camaraderie displayed at tournaments and events.

There is already one tournament in the books, with Val D’or having hosted the weekend of Friday July the 13th, and all parties involved consider it a resounding success. The teams competed in youth flag (co-ed ages 8-12), women’s flag (19 and under), and tackle (Pee Wee 13-14, Bantam 15-16, Midget 17-19) with most games being played on Saturday the 14th. The Youth Flag started the festivities off with Val D’or and James Bay splitting the two games they played. At the women’s flag level the Eagles were dominant cruising to a 3-0 record on the weekend, while the Mustangs women’s flag team displayed great improvement from day to day. Regarding tackle level football the three teams split the honours as the Val D’or Bears were victorious at the Pee Wee level, the James Bay Eagles were undefeated at the Bantam level, and the Mistissini Mustangs were undefeated at the Midget level. All teams displayed great talent and sportsmanship at all levels. Head Coach of the Mustangs Craig Bearss said “To be involved with this program since the beginning, and to see it develop into a competitive league is pretty awesome. The progress these players have made, not only from an athletic standpoint but also as young men and women, is outstanding.  I’m very proud of these kids.” Bearss went on to give praises to the man who introduced him to coaching. “Coach Monaghan has done a fantastic job building this program from scratch, and now we are collectively taking it to the next level.” Evident in Coach Bearss’ words is the importance of developing not only athletes and football players, but also men and women capable of leading their communities. This has always been a major focus of the program, as the coaches recognise how important it is to impart life skills and values.   The next tournament will take place in the Cree Nation of Mistissini From July 27th-29th.