Positive Dedication

It Happened One Cold Fall Saturday

Dedication.  It is a great long word, that is generously created with an enormous amount of banked time and effort all for a cause one believes in.

Imagine that...

It is 6:00am, it's a cold Saturday Albertan morning in November.  The fields and hills are comfortably tucked under a thick sparkly white blanket of snow. The temperature is -15 degrees Celsius.

The Fields and Hills Lay Beneath Their Blankets

 Where are you? Safely and warmly tucked into your bed?

Well, imagine that your not in your bed, but instead you find yourself on a high school football field with shovels, snow blowers, and a small tractor with a bucket and brushes.  Why would you, you ask?  Well, thanks for asking... You are assigned to a very important task.  Your task is to clear at least a week's worth of snow, so two important football games can be played.

Now, imagine that it is a few minutes before 11:00 am and you are still preparing the field for an eleven o'clock kick off.  Yikes, with determination you get it done.  Amazingly, after five hours, the job is done...Now that is dedication!



Time Is Drawing Near

We're Almost There

 On Saturday, my son and his middle school football team had a tier 4 championship football game in Drumheller, and I don't know if they realized that some hard working dedicated community members were working for five hours straight so they could play football on a relatively safe football field, but that is what happened.  There we all were, 15 dedicated parents, a few siblings, twelve cheerleaders from our team and two bleachers full of supporters for the home team; all bundled up in at least three layers of clothing, our snow pants, toques, two layers of gloves, our warmest winter boots, sleeping bags and many, many blankets, all ready to support our young athletes.


The Warm Up!


I have to say that despite the coldness, it was a wonderful day. The sun was shining  in that really special way that you only see in "winter" (fall), when the sky is such a glorious blue that it takes your breath away,  and the sun dances and sparkles on hills ' snow blankets and the frost shimmers on the trees.  The sun is in perfect position to make photographers jump up and down and thank their lucky stars for being alive and able to experience such splendor.



OOOH!



AHHHH!



Wow!



Catch My Breath

 The crowd was delightful and showed great sportsmanship.  The announcer stood on the sidelines and travelled up and down the field, encouraging both teams.




He Supported Them All

 The players on the Drumheller team tried so hard, but having so few players and with the conditions of the field, slippery and snowy, their spirits could have been deflated, but they kept on trying.



Outsized But Determined




Working For It!




Will He Get It?



Did He Get It?

One of the receivers stood out in particular because he tired so hard.  He dodged  this way  and that way, he leaped over our team players, but just couldn't cross that icy, snowy end line.  I was deeply impressed by his perseverance and desire to help his team.

 The announcer wished us well, as did other parents and grandparents from Drumheller, as we move on to Provincials this coming weekend in Medicine Hat against Grand Prairie.

I have to salute our cheerleaders, too.  First of all, they sacrificed a Saturday sleep in on their long weekend to support our guys and gals, then once on the sidelines, they were kicking high, shaking their pompoms, and cheering their hearts out in the cold wintery air. They didn't quit even though at times the naughty wind tried to have a snow shower fight and they probably found themselves questioning,"What was I thinking when I- I -I -I- I- I volunteered to be a ch-ch-ch-cheerleader for foo-oo-oo-oo-tball?"



Kick That Ball!

I also wish to take a moment to salute our coaches  for showing sportsmanship.  They did not keep building up the score and they did this by playing a variety of players, giving many the chance to help us out.

The home team treated our team to a warm lunch, how thoughtful!   Then our coaches took all of the team, about 40 players and 12 cheerleaders to the Tyrrell Museum...now that's dedication to the team and learning!

Focused



Let's Do This



Ready

Slipping and Sliding


What a beautiful day...the weather, the sunshine, the crowd, the officials, the company, the coaches, the players, the landscape, the dedication!

The Future is Ours



Through the Windshield

 

Dreamy



What a positive experience.  Thanks everyone!

The Light Played With My Heart

On the Highway Again!

The story and photographs are soul property of Renee Dowling.

To use them in any way,

please ask for permission at

dowling@shockware.com