A pocket quarterback in his minor football days, Ed Huber was quickly thrown into coaching after Fulton high school graduation.
He just turned 44 and remains loyal to the grid iron. After five years as president of Vernon Minor Football Association, the furniture king is stepping down.
You will still find Huber, a New England Patriots’ fan, coaching one or two teams when he’s not watching his 14-year-old son, Dylan, at the quarterback spot.
“John Sharkey, Shane (Gator) Gaythorpe and myself started coaching fresh out of high school,” said Huber. “The three of us took over a Bantam team. They went to two teams and I can’t remember how it all came about, but it was fun to be helping out kids, teaching and making a difference.”
Huber got married and he and his wife, Wendy, had three children. He took a short break from minor football, but has been coaching the past eight years, running the Pee Wee Magnums and Atom flag teams last season. He will coach again next season.
“It’s been a lot of hours because I’m also president of the Southern Interior Football Conference and treasurer of the B.C. Football Association, but I have no regrets. I do a lot of the work myself, but I think I’m pretty good at getting people motivated and helping out.”
Huber was a forward for Bob Shannon’s Fulton Maroons in basketball while competing in track and field. He has fond memories of community football, recalling Jim Simms as one of his favourite coaches.
Minor football has remained steady with 150 players since Huber joined the board. He’s high on incoming president Leanne Ehman.
“She’s a football mom and she’s been a director for three years. She’s a very organized person and it’s good to have a non-football person to do the job because it’s tough doing everything if you’re coaching as well.”
Coach Bill (Lumpy) Tarr, who was president for three years before Huber, credits Ed with jumpstarting the younger divisions.
“We needed someone to get away from politics and get down to the grassroots and Ed did that,” said Tarr. “The best things about Ed were his determination and commitment to the development of the grassrooots. He had focus and he was a fan of the game. He brought flag into the organization and worked hard on Pee Wee.”
Said secretary Susan Weeks: “On behalf of the community, we would like to thank Ed for his eight years of dedicated commitment, influence and valuable support he has put into Vernon Minor Football as president and coach. He will be missed, and we wish Ed all the best in his future endeavors.”
Huber was stoked to see Terry Winstanley of the Junior Bantam Magnums named Coach of the Year at the association’s year-end banquet.
“He’s a great coach. He can really relate to the kid and they really respect him. He’s very good at teaching the skills and has been coaching for six or seven years.”
Liam Gambrich of the Pee Wee team won the Corbin Elle Memorial Lineman Award.
Elle died in August, 2011 at 34 after a long, courageous battle with liver disease. He loved football and his parents, Eric and Caroline Elle, donated the trophy in his honour.
