Peter Train has coached rugby at Whistler Secondary School (WSS) since 2008. Back then it was little more than a fun project for the younger grades to learn a new game and experience some team-building. In recent times, however, Train has made a concerted effort to grow the program and see how his boys might perform in a competitive setting.
Brief seasons and snow-covered fields were always a challenge. One- and three-game campaigns were normal before WSS entered the North Shore Sea to Sky (NSS2S) League two years ago and began facing opponents from Vancouver.
That decision paid off, for WSS has officially locked up the first provincial rugby title in school history.
The Storm went 5-1 in regular-season play this year before going undefeated at the Tier 2 AA Boys Provincial Championships in Abbotsford. They downed Windsor 26-10 and LA Matheson 26-5 before vanquishing the incumbent champs, D.W. Popp, by a score of 26-10.
"It's fantastic to see," Train remarked. "I've been a [Phys Ed] teacher here for 20 years. Every five years you have a batch of kids come through, a cohort that's super strong. You know Whistler kids, the DNA in this town athletically is quite high. We've always thought, 'if we could get these guys to play for six months, how good would they be?'"
Even scouts have begun to take notice. Train's son, Alfie, was recently invited to a U19 squad in North Vancouver alongside Tannen DesBrisay, Sam Cousineau, Jack MacAllister, Aidan Thornhill and Matty Marino. Alfie, Cousineau and MacAllister are also bound for Guelph, Ont. in early July to partake in one of Team Canada's U18 camps.
Train says his group had "a big family feel" to it, literally and otherwise. Alfie and his other son, Charlie, played fly half and wing respectively while another pair of brothers, Nathan and Ryan Tomchek, manned the front row together. Van Crompton was on the team being coached by his dad, Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton, and they all brought Madrid native Nico Abenza into their fold as an international student.
'Helping kids help themselves'
WSS began heading to Squamish and training with the Axemen Rugby Club once a week in February before playing their first four games down in Vancouver at the turn of March. Train credited Axemen player-coach Stephen List for helping him and Crompton empower their pupils.
"Our aim in the last few seasons has been getting players to the stage where they can coach themselves," Train explained. "It's very important that we allow space for the kids to lead. Before games, you'll see us sitting back and them leading the warm-up, and then maybe Steve doing five or 10 minutes of direct instruction. You can't play the game for them—they've got to be ready.
"When we're breaking it down or stopping [play], pausing and asking questions, they're open-ended questions exploring their understanding of the game. It's coach-led, but the philosophy is more about helping kids help themselves."
The Storm were expecting to qualify for Tier 1 playoffs, but a few untimely injuries and stiff competition (other NSS2S schools might have up to 30 athletes on each roster) relegated them to Tier 2. Train's players "were really upset," but ultimately focused on conquering the task ahead.
"I think if we did go in Tier 1, we could have [placed] maybe even top five or something like that, but as is we went into the second tier and won, which we thought we could do," said Train. "There's younger kids coming into Grade 10 and 11 that [didn't get much] playing time this year because we had a strong team. We're looking forward to seeing [more of them] and it's pretty exciting to think that we do have a good team to come for next year."
