About Us

The Cowichan Valley Football Association is a non-profit, community based organization. Our association offers young people aged eight to eighteen the opportunity to learn and play Canadian tackle football in a structured, challenging and competitive environment.

Our goals are to teach both young men and women the fundamentals of football, while developing important characteristics and skill such as teamwork, self discipline, leadership, and sportsmanship along with many others. We believe and hope these and other skills learned will become important values well after the players football days are done.

It is our wish to allow those who participate in the sport to develop into young men and women that both their parents, team and community can be proud of. We hope to encourage and promote healthier lifestyles and scholastic standings and standards along with building self-esteem.

Spring Coaches & Staff

Head Coach: Doug “Opie” Williams

Assistant Coaches:

  • Geoff Backman
  • Ross McCauley
  • Rowan Plaxton
  • Gino Buscaino

Trainer: Charlotte “Lakey” Stager

Team Manager: Angie Henderson

Head Coach: Trystan Ryder

Assistant Coaches:

  • Shane Laver
  • Phil Reeves

Trainers:

  • Lizzi Johnson
  • Drew Kendrick

Team Manager: Angela Canning

Head Coach: Justin Young

Assistant Coaches:

  • Nicholas Young
  • Ayden Crawford-Starter
  • Bob Thomson
  • Jeff Pasternak
  • Ben Smith

Trainers:

  • Josh Gray
  • Shaman Lewis
  • Lee Windecker

Team Manager: Marla Bossons

Fall Coaches & Staff

Head Coach: Justin Young

Head Coach: Mike Williams

Head Coach: Tyler Gavin

Head Coach: Doug "Opie" Williams

Volunteer Staff

Board of Directors

All of our staff is made up of volunteers. Everyone has different skills, and amounts of time which we can devote outside of our usual lives. We hold an annual meeting whereby you are invited to participate in voting or running for various positions on the Board. For a detailed listing of job descriptions contact any one of the current Board members.

Our regular meetings are held monthly and are open to any parent that wants to sit and participate.

Coaching Staff

Although our organization is run by volunteers, we require that our Head Coaches have their minimum Level 1 Coaching Certificate. The Bulldogs will arrange this for you if you are interested. Contact the Volunteer Coordinator for this information.

All coaches, managers and board members must have a Criminal Record Check. Coaches, Assistant Coaches and Trainers are encouraged to consistently upgrade their skills by attending workshops and clinics. CVFA will pay the cost of these clinics.

The CVFA Board of Directors assigns the Head Coaches for each team and the Head Coach then appoints the assistant staff. Coaching staff have a duty to listen to a player/parent concerns and to address these concerns in a respectful manner. If there is a serious matter with a player or parent, this matter is then brought to the Board of Directors.

Coaches will respect the decisions of the Trainer regarding an injured player’s ability to go back into a game or practice. In order to provide a safe environment for the players, the Head Coach will decide on the positions played each game.

Team Managers

The main responsibilities of the Team Manager are communications and organization:

  • Managers take attendance for practices and games
  • Liase with parents and coaches (passing names of volunteers to the volunteer coordinator when necessary)
  • Provide Team with phone list and game schedule
  • Phone players before each game and if there are any schedule changes or practice changes
  • Arrange for Commissioner for home games (locate parent volunteer from parents)
  • Help organize volunteers initial schedule for home games set up and tear down (note: Once the schedule has been finalized, it is the parents responsibility to find coverage for their shifts if they cannot attend.)

Trainers

Trainers will always ‘err’ on the side of caution. If your child is injured and must be removed from a game or practice, the Trainer may then request a note from the doctor to give permission for that player to safely return to the field. Be prepared to bring a note in all cases of a suspected concussion, a doctor must clear your child before return to play. This is for the sole benefit of your child as we will never treat concussions, even mild ones, lightly. Trainers are on the field for each game and practice. It is the Trainer’s responsibility to notify other trainers or managers of their absence so that there is a presence on the field. A game may be forfieted if a trainer isn’t available at game time. Trainers Duties include:

  • Notifying coaches of any injuries
  • Assessing injuries, providing care and making decisions to return the player to the field or not
  • Provide ice for every game and practice in case of injury
  • Documenting injuries

The decision for a player to return to play is between the player, the player’s parent and the Trainer; in more serious injuries the Doctor will have the final word by providing a note clearing the player. Injuries at practice:  Unless the injury prevents it, the player will be expected to stand on the field with the squad so that they can hear the coach’s instructions, plans, plays, etc. Unless the injury prevents it, the player will be expected to participate with the squad in endurance building exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups.

Parent Volunteers

The Cowichan Valley Football Association is a volunteer run organization. We rely solely one the efforts of parents and volunteers (parent volunteers) to make the organization functional and viable.

We need YOUR help whenever you feel you can offer your time and skills. There are a variety of ways for you to be involved. In most cases we are happy to provide all the training you will require. Volunteering is a great way to be involved in the program your child participates in. It is also a great way to meet new people.

Please take the time to look over the various tasks and decide what you can do to help make your children’s football program better.

Here are the critical activities we need your support in. Most require very little time and most can involve the whole family.

Why do I need to submit Volunteer and Fundraising Bond Cheques ?

Every family who has a child or children registered in CVFA must submit both a Volunteer and a Fundraising cheque in an amounts of $100 each. Without the help of volunteers for games and fundraising, the cost to operate CVFA would be substantially higher. We pride ourselves on our ability to keep our fees low. Volunteers and fundraising events are essential for our association and games could be forfeited without certain positions being filled. In our experience, most of our family members enjoy the time they spend volunteering and fundraising with CVFA and also the time spent with their child/loved one; however, some would not perform any volunteer activity if we did not penalize them financially. Therefore it is the only way we can keep our organization running with the resources we have available to us.

Volunteer Positions Needed for Each Game

Play Counter

The play counter is required to arrive 10 minutes before the game begins on the player side of the field. You will be counting plays with a parent from the other team to ensure that each child gets a minimum of 10 plays. One person calls out the jersey numbers and one person records them. The play counter then signs the play counter sheet.

Concession

Concessions are not only a good source of fundraising, but offer a service to the visiting team and their fans. Each CVFA team must provide 3 volunteers for their home games to work the concession. Volunteers will be helping in the concession to prepare and sell food. Instructions for duties will be available in the concession and from the last shift and or concession managers.

Sticks/Set Up & ake Down

There is a requirement that each home team provide 3 volunteers to work the yard markers and chains for each home game. Each CVFA team must provide 3 volunteers for their home game. No experience necessary. Each team averages 4 home games and you have the best seats in the house. It is a easy job and there will always be an experienced person there to help. STICKS: Please be at the field 10 minutes before kick off to have everything ready for the game. You will be holding the sticks that identify the down and ball position. The referee will direct you throughout the game. SETUP/TAKE DOWN: For first game of the day, when you drop off your player for warm up, please do field setup. All the field markers and pads for the goalposts are in the room under the announcer’s booth. The player benches are in the electrical room. You will need a key from a coach or board member to move the field posts into position. The sponsor banners are in the shack and need to be hung on the fences. If you are the last game of the day, please move field posts back, put benches away, banners in shack and all markers in the room under the announcer’s booth.

Commissioner

There needs to be 1 person per game to keep track of the home and visitor scores, the name and number of players on both teams that made the score, any major penalties along with # of the player.

The referee will call out these offenses and if you are unsure whether to record or not just ask the referee. The Commissioner stands at 50-yard line on player side of the field. You will need to get the commissioner sheets from the manager and hand back to her after the game.

*If you are in the concession for the 1st half, please start your shift 20 minutes before the game or at the end of the prior game, and end at the beginning of half time. Second half volunteers begin at the beginning of halftime until the next shift arrives or clean up if it is the last game of the day.

*Play off games will also need volunteers and will be scheduled when we know dates and times of the games.

*Please notify your team manager that you have arrived for your shift and when you have completed your shift to ensure return of your volunteer deposit cheque.