The Howe Sound Secondary School Sounders' football season may very well be over before it has begun.Coach Rex Reece and 20 students ready to strap on their gear and get their first practice underway were shocked when they discovered all of the team's equipment was missing from the exterior storage unit located on the back parking lot Monday (Sept. 8).Reece unlocked the container to find 24 helmets, the helmet pump and 24 sets of shoulder pads missing. According to principal Nancy Campbell, the equipment is valued at $8,000 and the school doesn't have the funds to replace it."It's a significant amount of money and $8,000 is not something I have in my budget at all," she said.Grade 12 students Ryan Massaar and Scott Burton were looking forward to a final year of high school football. But if the gear can't be replaced in time they likely will never again play the sport competitively."It hasn't really hit me yet that we might not be playing this year," said Massaar. "We were going to gave a good team, too." The blow to the football program is especially hard because this year student interest in football is strong compared to previous seasons. The team has carried less than 20 players over the last few seasons so to have that many come out for the opening practice was really encouraging, said Reece."This is the first year since we got to the playoffs four years ago that we've had a turnout like this," he said. "The kids are all keen and it's all they've talked about all summer. My son [Rory] is devastated."Team members were planning to meet later in the week to decide whether fundraising efforts can save the Sounders' football season. Reece said he wishes he had known about the break in when it was discovered earlier in the summer so that the team had more time to fundraise. However, the football equipment was not reported missing because school officials didn't realize Reece was using the unit for storage, said Campbell. Meanwhile, the usual track equipment was still there and the presence of coffee cups and a blanket suggested someone was using the space as living quarters.The Sounders football team appreciates any aid the community can offer to help get them geared up to hit the field. They were expected to play their home opener at Don Ross Secondary School on Saturday (Sept. 13) but the game has been cancelled.
