After a one-win season a year ago, the Twin Lakes Secondary School junior rugby team won the Simcoe County Athletic Association (SCAA) Sevens championship earlier this week.
When the team began practising for the new season in early September, co-coach Barry McCann had no expectations of a championship-winning season. Before last spring, Twin Lakes hadn't had a rugby program in almost a decade.
"The first week of September we called a meeting to see if we could even get enough guys," he explained. "When we did, we started practising at lunch with what started with 10 guys and ended up being 14."
McCann and co-coach Peter Alexander were "shocked" when the Thunderbirds won their first game 35-0.
"We were wondering how this happened," he said. "We had absolutely no idea that we had a championship-level squad."
Despite losing almost every single game last season, McCann says the passion was always there among his players.
"We got thumped in almost every game," he said. "But the guys never lost focus, spirit, or passion for the game."
McCann says the championship season will be remembered by players as the highlight of their high school career.
"They showed that if you have a passion, trust in yourself, and a system, anything can happen," he said. "That's what the kids proved."
Grade 10 student Andrew Dilawri says playing on the rugby team was an "incredible" experience.
"This was my first time playing rugby," he explained. "There were a couple of other new players and some experienced players from last year, too. It was a good mix."
Dilawri says the players gelled together quickly and always demonstrated sharp communication skills.
"We just have a really good group of guys on the team," he said. "A lot of the guys were fit and skilled."
The Thunderbirds went 8-0 in the regular season, which led to them expecting to win the season-ending tournament in Alliston on Wednesday.
"We kept a good mindset about winning," Dilawri said. "
In the final game, the Thunderbirds defeated Barrie North 19-12 and were led on the pitch by star players Kail Huffman, Cohen Sweet, Gabe Vessi, Kai Elford, Cole Perreault, and Emerson Hoffman.
"It was a very close game," Dilawri said. "It was back-and-forth for most of the game."
When the final whistle blew, Dilawri says all his teammates huddled together to celebrate the special moment together.
McCann thanks Jay Malandrino for organizing the fall season for students.
"We couldn't have been as successful without him organizing this," he said. "We are ecstatic about the whole league."
McCann says the team is excited to see how they fare when they return to play in the 15-minute-half games again in the spring.
"The seven-minute-half games are just an appetizer for the big season," he said. "We'll start our training in the gyms around February."
