Mitch Calvert
Kurt Thornton knows what a positive impact football can have in a young person’s life.
The former Muskie lineman, now a guidance counsellor at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School in Surrey, B.C., has been an integral piece to the success of the school’s football program over the last four years, which culminated this summer when Thornton received a community service award from the city for his commitment to coaching.
“I was a little taken aback when I got it, and even when I went to get it, I didn’t realize it was such a big deal,” Thornton admitted. “The other award winners were some pretty special people in some of the other categories, and it was quite an honour to be recognized with that group of people.”
Thornton was quick to deflect credit for the football program to the efforts of students and their families for initially getting it off the ground.
“I was on a leave and a group of kids with their parents got the program started,” he noted. “And when I came back to work, they asked me to get involved coaching.”
Thornton began as an assistant coach, but took the lead role in the team’s second season and hasn’t looked back. Now in his fourth year at the reins, he has seen the program grow drastically over that time.
The first year saw the team comprised of just 28 players, but now the program consists of 123 players and 21 coaches between three teams.
“The essence of our program has always been much more than football,” Thornton stressed. “We focus strongly on academics and trying to get them [the players] into university.
“And whatever they choose to do, we want them to aim for a high level, and that’s the philosophy that I’ve tried my best to bring into the program which I got from my experience in Fort Frances.”
Thornton said his former Muskie coaches, notably then-head coach Dave Montgomery and assistant Gord Kitzul, were instrumental in his development to adulthood—and he’s instilled the values he learned back then into his players today.
“Growing up in a small town, I found myself quite fortunate to be a part of the football program there and at that time, the coaching staff was very much in tune with their players and very interested in pushing them to achieve not only in sports but in other aspects of life,” Thornton recalled.
“I’ve always felt football was the best vehicle to reach out to kids and challenge them physically, mentally, and emotionally, and when you do that, kids start to become more confident and that confidence spills over into other areas of their lives,” the former math teacher added.
“We push our kids to get involved in other aspects of school life and be leaders because there really is no other place in your life where you have the opportunity to do the things you can do in high school,” he reasoned.
That philosophy has translated into success on the football field, as the senior team either has made it to the provincial semi-finals or finals the last three years, with only the championship title still eluding them.
“It’s a big province with 52 teams, but we’ve competed right from Day 1,” Thornton said. “And because of that, when you are successful on the field, the kids buy into the other things that you tell them, as well.”
Thornton’s own football path took him to the University of Manitoba after high school, where he spent two seasons with the Bisons while studying to be a teacher in 1989 and ’90.
“I learned a lot there and had outstanding coaches, as well,” Thornton enthused. “I did my best to learn everything I could about the game even though I wasn’t playing much, and my goal was always to get involved in coaching at some point.”
Thornton originally had envisioned teaching back here in Fort Frances after his studies were complete, but a lack of job prospects in the area saw him moving west for employment. When he first arrived in Surrey, there only was one football program out of 18 public high schools in the city, but that number has since grown to five while the total number of teams in the province had doubled.
Why the resurgence in football in recent years?
“I think cost was a big deterrent and rugby became quite popular for a time, but I think the resurgence of the B.C. Lions and their involvement in the community,” Thornton suggested for the game’s rise in the province.
“And with football, in general, getting more and more popular all the time, it had a trickle-down effect to the high schools.”
As long as people like Thornton continue to commit volunteer time to high school football, it shouldn’t regress anytime soon.
