Respect all, fear none.

That’s the motto of the Kildonan East Reivers football team, known around the school and the Kas Vidruk division as “Reiver Nation.” It’s a motto that head coach Jason Hawkins believes his group of guys, and many a KEC student as well, have taken to heart.

“Out on the football field you fear nothing, you give it all you got,” he said, taking a few minutes out of practice on Oct. 21. “We preach achieve your best, and they’re doing that.”
Heading into the team’s final regular season match-up against Brandon’s Vincent Massey squad on Oct. 22, the Reivers were winless. The Reivers dropped that game to the Brandon squad 29-14.

“Some games, it’s tough,” Hawkins admitted. “As head coach you feel responsible. But I tell them, ‘Monday when we get back here, I’ll be back at it.’ It’s easy to get beat down and want to quit. But these kids have been amazing. They’ve all been showing up and staying positive.”
A major problem for the Reivers this season was high level of graduation.

“We lost a lot of 12s last  year,” Hawkins said. “We lost our quarterback, some running backs, key guys in the O-line. We knew it was going to be a rough road.”

While this year has been tough for Reiver Nation, the future looks promising.

“We’ve got a good crop of 10s and 11s,” Hawkins said. “They don’t have a lot of football experience, but there’s some good numbers for kids who are willing to learn and get better.”

Hawkins said many of the younger players who come into the Reivers program also lack any previous football experience. But Hawkins welcomes the challenge.

“It means that this program is getting kids involved in a sport who have never played a team sport before,” he said. “It’s something positive. They can get out here, they can work hard, they learn about discipline and respect. There’s so many positives that they take when they finish here. That’s the biggest thing, just giving the community and the kids something like that.”

Giving back to the community was central to the program from the get-go, Hawkins explained.

“The biggest thing (was) having students involved in something positive, giving the kids something to belong to,” said Hawkins, who started working with the program as a defensive co-ordinator when it started in 2006.

To celebrate 10 years of Reiver Nation, Kildonan East is hosting an anniversary banquet on Wed., Nov. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m.

“We’re inviting back former players, coaches, parents, alumni — anyone who wants to come out who was involved — to celebrate 10 years in the community,” Hawkins said. “It’ll be a great night, a great celebration.”

Tickets to the Reivers 10th anniversary banquet are $25, and can be purchased by calling 204-667-2920.

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