Perfecting athletic skills - along with building character, a solid work ethic, and accountability - are what the Battle River Shock Football Club is all about.
Based in Camrose but practicing mainly in Lacombe, athletes (Grades 9–11) the team draws from the Battle River School District and beyond.
Players join from across the region, from Pigeon Lake, Wetaskiwin, Lacombe, Sylvan Lake, Rocky Mountain House, and Ponoka to Hay Lakes, Leduc, Camrose, Stettler, Donalda, Viking, Sedgewick, and Red Deer among others.
Todd Lewis, head coach of the Ponoka Broncs football teams, first got involved with the Shock back in 2018.
He pointed out that a sizable chunk of the players come from Ponoka, including Carson Frank, Truce Cardinal Beaverbones, Liam Bonnett, Tyzia Bull, Tyler Hawkings, Hudson Szuimik-Bruns, Logan Morris, Nash Matlo, Logan Forster, Chase Altizer, Kali Liesbrecht, Brandt Cabay, and Kaiden Jeffrey.
Other Broncs coaches involved with the team include Michael Davidse, Josh Weibe, and Derek Kasur.
"I signed on as assistant defensive coordinator and the defensive back coach," said Lewis.
"In Shock, we have a whole team of coaches for every position group - quarterbacks, offensive line, running backs, linebackers - each group has at least one coach, and often even two or three.
"So we have about 15 coaches on staff, which is incredible," he said, adding it's ideal for the players as they get specialized training as they hone their skills.
"One of the purposes of Shock is to get these players ready for not just high school playing, but also for college football. And that's how we run it - it's structured just like a college team. It's extremely regimented. It's still focused on development, but it is a competitive team. We are there to win a championship!"
Lewis said one of his favourite things about Shock is that is draws youth from such a wide area.
"The cool thing too is that a lot of these kids are opponents with each other (through the regular season). And then we put them in a position where they have to 'become' a team, and form bonds. Before you know it, it looks like they have been playing together for 10 years - it's so cool.
"Fast forward to the fall, and they all go back to playing for their hometown teams. They are opponents again,"' he said. But a built-in camaraderie remains.
"What Shock does is it builds the football community. It takes all of these kids from different programs, jams them together, and they have to form a brotherhood if they want to be successful," he explained.
"And they do - they kids are fantastic; they form as a team so quickly. They go out of their way to be excited, and to be good teammates."
"It also works to make their own programs stronger," Lewis said.
"And again, this is what football should be all about - complete brotherhood. Just because someone is wearing a different jersey than you, it doesn't matter. So that is part of what Shock does - it builds that football community. This eclectic group that we are is our strength," said Lewis.
"The fact we are able to come together as a group, a brotherhood, and a community - it all makes us stronger."
The club's website notes that 2009 was the inaugural season for the Battle River Shock, "However the foundations for midget football in the area were well laid dating back to 2003."
At that time, the only midget team in northern Alberta was the Tri County Freeze. It was comprised of players from the counties of Leduc, Wetaskiwin, and Camrose.
Then, in 2006, the CDMFA (Edmonton) started a midget program and The Freeze joined the group.
A second team - the Chill - was later formed as well. The Freeze and Chill names were dropped as Leduc eventually had enough players to run its own team - the Ti-Cats.
"But, to not leave the country boys out, they also allowed us to operate our own team through Leduc minor – we were named the Stray Cats."
Later, in 2009, the Battle River Shock team was launched, and has been breaking new ground ever since.
Ultimately, Lewis said it's not just about bringing out the best in these young players. It's also about bolstering character through accountability, discipline, and again, a solid sense of teamwork. And they've certainly known significant success, landing champ status for three years in a row, along with being named Defence of the Year by the CDMFA for 2023 and 2024 (for offence in 2023 as well).
"When you try out for a university team, they don't just look at how good you are as a player - they look at character, habits, routines, and work ethic, too," he said.
"So we try to instill these values so that they can go to the next level. And in doing all of that, we are preparing them for life, too."
For more about the Battle River Shock Midget Football team, head to www.camroseminorfootball.com.
