27 wins, no losses.
1031 points for, 98 points against to go with two championships and no losses in the history of the franchise. Not bad for a new team of nine, 10 and 11 year-old football players — and they aren’t done yet.
“These kids are great,” said head coach Darryl Pollock of the young Victoria Hitmen, a team he has coached from game one. “It is the kids that execute it … They are the ones working their tails off.”
It wasn’t always so easy, a slow start with only seven kids signing up for the then upstart Greater Victoria Minor Football team in 2009, Pollock was forced to work the phones, contacting parents hoping to get children to play so they could field a team that year.
Little did he know, the team he assembled would set the ground work for an undefeated season, then two and if he has his way three.
“Other coaches bicker and moan they will say we stack our team and the other teams get the (worse) players,” Pollock said. “I don’t (care) what other people say, I am loyal to my kids and my kids parents. I don’t really care.”
Connor way, a Grade 5 student St. Michael’s University junior school is one such student who is helping the team on it’s way to a third consecutive undefeated season and just can’t get enough.
“Football is a wonderful sport … I would recommend it for anybody,” the 10-year-old Sidney resident said. “In most sports like soccer and baseball, you don’t really get to hit. I like the hitting part.”
Five games into their third season they are already hitting on all cylinders amassing a 5-0 record after a 60-0 win over Nanaimo. Half way through their eight-game regular season, the offensive line captain already has his eyes on the prize.
“We have a great team,” Way said. “With our team this year, I think we will win it again.”
The young leader plays a position that seldom gets much of the glory but coach Pollock heaps heavy praise upon the hard-working 10-year-old.
“He is one of the hardest working kids I have ever coached. He will do whatever coaches ask for, he is not a selfish player at all,” Pollock said. “I look forward to huge things from him. He will be one of the strongest kids in the league will develop and be a star for somebody some day.”
At the end of the day, seeing that development and improvement from his players day in and day out is what drives him to spend so much time with the team, not just the wins and losses.
“I have kids (starting out) running away from the ball,” Pollock said laughing. “They come back the next year, (we) give them a chance and next thing you know they are a star.”
Playoffs start Oct. 30, while provincials are in Kamloops Nov. 12 and 13.
