The Axemen Rugby Club didn鈥檛 make a repeat appearance in the 小蓝视频 Rugby men鈥檚 division Tier 3 finals this year, but the club is still counting 2017-18 as a successful season.
The Axemen fell in the semifinals to the eventual champions, Westshore RFC, by a tight 19-12 final, but there were still plenty of reasons for club members to hold their heads high after finishing the regular season in second place with a 13-4-1 record.
Club vice-president Michael Kompass, who also suits up for the team, explained the club underwent a reboot in 2013 to refocus its efforts, a decision he explains has paid off in the intervening seasons.
One important change has been the influx of new blood, as several Howe Sound Secondary School team members made the jump to the senior level.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have some younger guys in there. I鈥檓 43, so I鈥檓 the old guy on the team. It鈥檚 a real mix of ages and we鈥檝e got a real great mix and diversity in terms of experience, playing levels, skill levels,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ver the past year and a half, we鈥檝e really clicked.鈥�
Team captain Neil Irwin said a youth movement in the back row helped solidify an already formidable group of forwards.
鈥淲e have a strong forward pack and where we really developed was we found three young back-row forwards, flankers. They鈥檙e a couple young Canadian guys who haven鈥檛 played all that much before. But they came along and took some coaching and they were awesome.鈥�
Kompass credited player-coach Blake Mahovic for his hard work running practices and designing plays to make the team competitive.
As a larger club, the Axemen have held touch rugby events and are also looking to foster youth (ages 10 to 12) and women鈥檚 rugby in the Sea to Sky corridor. Kompass said the club is seeking more members of all ages and abilities, noting he hopes enough women come out to form a full side.
The club also embraced Whistler more this season, dropping Squamish from its name and hosting a pair of early-season games up at Whistler Secondary School last autumn.
鈥淎s a club, it鈥檚 important to focus on the Whistler-Squamish combo,鈥� Kompass said. 鈥淭he touch league runs all summer here in Whistler as well, so there鈥檚 plenty of rugby to be played as it warms up and the fields get into a bit more of a dry, stable situation.
鈥淲e鈥檒l definitely play a few more of our home games up in Whistler this year in the coming season.鈥�
Irwin added the club is seeing former players from previous incarnations of the team return in other capacities, giving the Axemen a link to their past.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about building a community and a broader involvement with as many people as we can get,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing guys that were part of the original Squamish or Whistler teams ... are coming back and getting involved. Some of the older guys are helping out with coaching and sponsorship and most importantly, support.鈥�
For more information, check out Axemen Rugby Club on FacebooK
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