The BFS System is flourishing amoung our friends up North

Because high schools in the British Columbia area play football according to American rules, it was only natural that Offensive Coordinator Martin McDonnell of the Terry Fox Ravens looked south for ways to elevate the team's caliber of play. His search led him to BFS. Says BFS Clinician Roger Freeborn, "I used to coach in the Seattle area and would scout teams that came south from British Columbia to play some of our opponents in non-conference play. Most of the time the Canadian schools would get blown out, big time, by the American schools.

One result of these scrimmages was that Coach McDonnell and I became friends, and soon we developed an ongoing 'cyber relationship' about our offensive strategy. He took a special interest in my offensive philosophy, which he implemented for his team with great results." But that's not all. In addition to learning the secrets of Coach Freeborn's offense that, for the past eight years, has resulted in his fullbacks averaging seven yards a carry and his tailbacks eight yards a carry, McDonnell was also curious about the conditioning program Freeborn had used with his athletes. He wanted that "BFS edge" for his own team.

With Freeborn's help Terry Fox High School, which is located in Port Coquitlam, soon had an athletic program committed to all aspects of the BFS program. And because McDonnell also serves as the chair of the physical education department, he also integrated the BFS program into the PE curriculum. The results were immediate for the In the past, Canadian high schools would get blown out when they scrimmaged with American teams. Now teams such as the Terry Fox Ravens can hold their own, and sometimes defeat, teams from the US. Ravens, and their victories started to pile up beginning in the mid '90s. The Ravens became a football force not be taken lightly.

Last year Freeborn was pleased, but not surprised, to learn that despite moving up to a higher classification, Terry Fox High School had qualified for the British Columbia Provincial Championships.

The Clinic Advantage Last spring McDonnell arranged to have Freeborn conduct a Be An 11 Seminar and one-day BFS Clinic for all the Raven athletes and coaches. McDonnell told Freeborn recently of the dramatic impact these clinics are having: More athletes than ever before are in the Ravens' lair breaking records and getting ready for the upcoming season. say the least. Of special interest this season will be the Raven's September 18 game with Estacada High School of Estacada, Oregon. This is Coach Freeborn's team. "It certainly will be interesting this fall when the fans see the same offensive scheme on both sides of the ball,"

The BC Ravens have taken a “Total Program”approach to conditioning, adapting all aspects of the BFS system. The BFS program is also integrated into the PE curriculum. Another motivational technique McDonnell uses with his players is to take his team to football camp in the summer. The Ravens chose the Washington State Football Camp, which is also attended by many of the Seattle schools. When pitted against the Canadians this year for scrimmages, those same Seattle schools thought the Ravens would be pushovers. Were they in for a surprise! Not only were they not pushovers, the players from British Columbia actually beat many of those schools from the States!

A Canadian team beating a US team in football? It was a humbling experience, to says Freeborn. That summer the Ravens attended a team camp in southern Oregon. They were invited by the Rangers from Estacada, which is located about halfway on the long 14-hour bus ride from Port Coquitlam to the southern Oregon coast, to spend the night in Estacada. The rival teams got to know each other a bit while playing 7 on 7, attending a barbecue hosted by the Estacada Booster Club and at a refreshing swim party put on by Estacada's Super Boosters, the Jim Weston family. Both teams are preparing very hard for their September game, more so, perhaps than for other preseason contests.

"I look at it like this-It's not like your preseason game." Elsewhere in British Columbia the passion for American football is likewise heating up. Two decades ago there were perhaps two dozen schools participating in the BC area, but since then many more schools have joined the ranks. There are now over sixty teams competing for the championship. Coach Freeborn says he feels great knowing that good things about American sports are being shared with our neighbors Two decades ago there were only about two dozen schools in the BC area participating in football, now there are over sixty teams competing the championships. Canada loves football! to the north.

The Ravens are now a perennial playoff team for the BC Provincial Championships, competing at the highest level of high school play. Go Canada! BFS weekend game of golf or tennis," says Freeborn. "If you just happen to show up at the club and are put in a foursome with strangers, the competition is not quite the same as when competing against your best friends. You are going to do everything possible to beat those guys you compete against on a regular basis. So when the Ravens and the Rangers get together, we expect the play to be quite a bit more intense than for a regular

From BFS Magazine — September/October 2004. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).