Eastman football season kicks off with Raiders Day celebration

A.D. Penner Park in Steinbach was buzzing once again, as the Eastman Raiders football teams began their home schedule with a full slate of games Aug. 24.

The action started at 9 a.m. and ran until the evening, with five teams across the different age groups taking to the field. Off the field, the team hosted a mega 50/50 draw, silent auction and vendors.

Gavin Don is the president of the Eastman Raiders Football Club, and was on hand taking photos and helping run the canteen throughout the day.

“It’s gone very well so far,” Don said, as the club’s U16 team was in the middle of a game.

“In terms of turnout, it’s been great. The good weather does certainly help that… I think the prize tables are making us money, that’s always the goal.”

Raiders’ Day is the biggest event of the year for the club, as they look to set a culture and recruit the next generation of players.

“Kids come along, they’re maybe not registered but they’re here because their cousin is playing, or a friend’s playing, they see it and they think, ‘maybe I’ll try that next year,’ and hopefully they come back and don’t forget about it because they played hockey over the winter,” Don said.

“We like to think of ourselves as a family club, not that the other clubs are not, but there are some clubs that take it a little bit more seriously than we do. Winning is nice, but as we say, it’s not the be all and end all. At a lot of clubs, it’s the other way around, the win is more important than the development of players.”

The club was disappointed to see all of their teams in action on the same day during this year’s Raiders’ Day. Usually the team honours players with medals in between game. This year, with turnaround times as short as five minutes, there simply wasn’t enough time to make the games more of an event.

“It’s a real shame, because that is a big part of Raiders’ Day,” Don said.

“Raiders’ Day, it has to be something different than a home weekend… It’s a shame we haven’t been able to recognize the players a bit more this year, but it is what it is. The fixtures are not in our control, so we play the hand we’re dealt.”

Don said enrollment is about the same this year, and the club has had more players now than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 130 kids are registered this season. With strong enrollment comes a solid financial status as well.

“We have some excellent people doing fundraising for us, it’s very good,” Don said.

“If we can sustain this level (of enrollment) for a good period of time, that’s the way forward for the time being. It would be great if we could increase the number of players, put more teams out on the field. Right now with the teams that we have, we’re happy with that.”

The club has some new equipment this year, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers donating a Tetra Tackling Dummy and the Raiders purchasing tackling donuts as well.

“We’ve invested in training for the kids and so far it seems to be paying off with the results from the atoms, the peewees and the bantams,” Don said, noting while the goal isn’t get a victory every game, the players on the field are driven to pick up those wins no matter the attitude from club organizers.

“It’s not all about the number in the win column, but it certainly helps to keep morale up. It makes kids want to come back if they’re part of something successful.”

Don said a couple of the club’s teams have a chance to put together a strong season and compete for a championship in their division.

“It would be nice to bring a championship back, we haven’t had one of them in a long time,” Don said, laughing.

“Which is why our Raider (logo) is grumpy these days, and doesn’t have a smiling face.”