The Ottawa REDBLACKS continue to build their 2021 training camp roster, inking lineback, 2020 CFL Draft selection BRAD COWAN!!! Brad is a Warriors alumni, Jim Wagdin Post-Secondary Warriors Scholarship winner, Bel-Air Norsemen alumni and Yates Cup winner with the Laurier University Golden Hawks.
CONGRATS BRAD!!!! Couldn’t be happier for or prouder of you. Now the real works begins!
Distinguished Warriors alumni Sam Sabourin, who was an All-Canadian playing for the Queens Gaels, has launched a special training plan for Bell Warriors athletes. Based out of Stittsville, Sam is the owner of Between the Bumpers. Go to this link for more details: http://tiny.cc/ob0usz
Prior to Sam starring with Queens Gaels, Sam was the a multi-major award winner with the Warriors starting with Best OL at Tyke, MVP Tyke, Best Defensive Player Mosquito, MVP Mosquito, Coaches Choice Pee Wee, Coaches Choice Bantam and finally MVP at Bantam. Sam was also a two-time winner of the Jim Wagdin Bell Warriors Scholarship. His playing days at Queens were just as impressive seeing him win the 2010-11 OUA Rookie of the Year, CIS Defensive player of the week, OUA Defensive player of the week twice, set school record for solo tackles in a season with 50 (2nd most in CIS), and set a school single game record for solo tackles in a game with 13 vs. McMaster.
Sam would have been a top 10 CFL Canadian draft pick but chose to move on to the business world. Sam has been described as the best football player never to play pro, after declaring himself ineligible for the CFL draft. He has worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach, and lectured at multiple universities, early in his career, and is now doing some great things for competitive athletes and regular people alike!
Sam Sabourin #44 taking a well-deserved rest with his Queens Gaels
THANKS SAM FOR REMEMBERING YOUR ROOTS AND STEPPING UP TO SUPPORT OUR WARRIORS!
It’s official! The 2019 Jim Wagdin Bell Warriors Scholarship winners have been announced and this year’s winners are Ethan Ryan of Carleton Place and Daniel Briere of Ottawa.
Ethan Ryan describes some highlights from his many years with the Warriors as, “The skills and life lessons I learned from the Bell Warriors football club were invaluable and contributed to my overall personal growth in becoming a man. Each year a different coach brought new direction and advice on how to be the best team member possible but overall the messages were always the same. I was taught to value teammates, to give of myself, because someone was depending on me. I was taught to have compassion for my team mates and the opposing teams. I learned to be committed to myself and to my team. These lessons forced me to become responsible. Playing with the Bell Warriors required dedication and I learned to give respect and was given my fair share. I was an award winner with the Bell Warriors every year I played for them. The Bell Warriors made me the football player and person that I am today.” Ethan will be at Carleton University this year studying music and is hopeful to play football with the Carleton Ravens when USports returns. He closed his application with the pledge to, “strive to make the Bell Warriors proud of me.”
Daniel Briere says of his days with the Warriors, “The Bell Warriors taught me what hard work was from a very young age. I was around 11 when I started my first year with the Warriors and it was an experience like no other. The Bell Warriors football organization gave me the opportunity to create bonds that will last a lifetime and help me create a work ethic that I feel will keep with me until the day I retire from whatever is awaiting me in the future.” Like all of our successful scholarship winners, Daniel has a proud record of volunteering in our community. He was a active organizer of his high school’s Relay for Life which raises badly needed monies for the Canadian Cancer Society. Daniel also was a “Buddy” for Ausome. Ausome is an organization that gives children with autism a space to engage in physical activity. Daniel ovserves that, “Being brought up with the Bell Warriors and learning about teamwork has helped me to be successful with these events in my community.”
Join us in congratulating these two exceptional young men who continue to represent the “Warrior Way” and our program with integrity and pride. CONGRATULATIONS ETHAN AND DANIEL!
A special thanks also goes out to KEVIN PIDGEON, President and CEO of the Nautical Lands Group who was our exclusive GOLD SPONSOR of this year’s two Jim Wagdin Scholarships (READ MORE).
Kevin Pidgeon – THANKS KEV for continuing to care!!!
NCAFA Return to Play
Update – July 2020
Football Canada officially released its Return to Football Guidelines for the country on June 19, 2020. This will shortly be followed up with OFA guidelines based on rules set out by the Province of Ontario.
As we review the guidelines presented, NCAFA and its member Clubs are working diligently to ensure any return to play strategy has player, parent, coach and volunteer safety first and foremost in our decisions.
We have heard from many of you and certainly appreciate your desire for information. At this time NCAFA will continue with the suspension of all tackle football activity until at least September 1st while we evaluate options as to if / when it is safe to restart our programs.
Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.
For more than a decade now, when the Bell Warriors have found themselves in need, the Schwartz family have been there to step up for our club and young players. Well they’ve done it again! The Bell Warriors Football Club is excited to announce that Ontario Iron Works, which is owned by Carmen Schwartz and her brother Kevin, have just made a substantial sponsorship donation to our club and is now our newest Gold Sponsor!
The Warriors find themselves in a precarious position this year, as many do, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We took on substantial expenses in the Winter months as we always do every year preparing for our April ind00r clinics, Spring Co-Ed Flag football program and Spring Girl’s Touch football program. We also spent money refurbishing and reconditioning all of our helmets for the fall tackle football season and this year we had to make the difficult decision to purchase more helmets to ensure we had enough helmets in inventory. Aside from that, we still have to pay to store our equipment and insure it. With next to no revenues for this calendar year, we have been forced to dip into our reserves quite substantially to maitain operations. COVID-19 has had a dramatic effect on our non-profit youth club”, states Paul Stewart, Bell Warriors President.
Carmen & her husband Ken Schwartz were both substantial volunteers with the Bell Warriors over the past decade. Ken was a coach and equipment manager with our club while Carmen was a team manager and eventually a VP of Administration. In 2015, Carmen was named our Bell Warriors Volunteer of the Year and was honoured as the league’s (NCAFA) Volunteer of the Year. Their two sons Daniel and Steven both played for years with our club and their daughter Kayla Schwartz was often an eager club volunteer as well.
“The Bell Warriors give so much back to their players, families and our community. They became a fixture in our family’s lives and we wanted to be there to help them especially this year knowing the challenges the club is facing due to this pandemic”, said Ken Schwartz.
“You can’t beat the Schwartzes. They are great friends with many of our legacy volunteers and for them to continue to give back long after their sons have graduated from the program is a testament to their business, Ontario Iron Works, and their entire family. This is a financial and emotional pat on the back. We desperately needed both and can’t thank the Schwartzes enough for being there (again) for our Warriors”, summarizes Mr. Stewart.
For 65 years, the Bell Warriors Football Club has offered football programs for boys and girls ages 7-23 in the communities of Britannia, Bayshore, Bells Corners, Crystal Beach, Richmond, Munster and Stittsville. To learn more about the Bell Warriors Football Club sponsorship program, go to www.bellwarriors.ca/sponsors/ or email info@bellwarriors.ca.
Ken Schwartz, Head Controller Ontario Iron Works and long-time Bell Warriors volunteer. Ontario Iron Works is the newest Bell Warriors Football Club Gold Sponsor thanks to a very generous donation made recently by Ken & Carmen Schwartz on behalf of Ontario Iron Works.
“The Bell Warriors Football Club is pleased and excited to announce that Warriors alumni parent and alumni coach Kevin Pidgeon has stepped up to fund this year’s two Bell Warriors Jim Wagdin Post-Secondary Scholarships,” stated Paul Stewart, Bell Warriors Football President
“In funding year’s scholarships, I wanted to be sure that this year’s bursaries could continue to be made without the Warriors having to impact the club’s operating funds. Jim (Wagdin) is a tremendous visionary and I am truly proud of all that he has accomplished with the club.” – Kevin Pidgeon, COO Nautical Lands Group.
Jim Wagdin volunteered for the Bell Warriors for 24 amazing years as a coach, VP and eventual President of the Club until 2011. Mr. Wagdin was a man of character, dignity and distinction who set a tremendous example for our young players and families. In 2011, upon his retirement from the Warriors, Jim was bestowed the honour as the Bell Warriors 1st Inductee into the Bell Warriors Hall of Fame.
In 1999, the Bell Warriors initiated the Warrior Scholarship program offering two $1,000 scholarships to ex-Warriors who are pursuing post-secondary education. Participation in a post-secondary football program is not a prerequisite. There are however, three selection criteria – Academics, Warrior Experience, and Community Involvement. An independent committee, as chosen by the Club executive, makes the selections. $40,000 has been rewarded to date to Warrior alumni for their pursuit of post-secondary education. The Warriors support our players on and off the field!
“This gesture couldn’t have come at a better time. Our Bell Warriors Football Club is facing unprecedented financial challenges which puts our non-profit sports club in a precarious position. Despite the fiscal challenges our club is facing, we felt it was important to continue to support our Warriors alumni now more than ever by continuing to offer our scholarships. We had already incurred considerable expenses, however, associated with our preparations for our Winter Football clinics, Co-Ed Spring Flag Football program, Spring Girl’s Touch Football program and our Tackle Football program. Kevin’s considerable donation is not only appreciated but it is reaffirming that the Warriors are on the right track. It’s a humbling pat-on-the-back to all of our volunteers who have selflessly given to their community over the years. We can’t thank Kevin Pidgeon and his family enough for continuing to value our club and goals,” sums up President Stewart.
A HUGE THANK YOU KEV!!!
Kevin Pidgeon – THANKS KEV for continuing to care!!!
Kevin’s two sons Brendan and Art both played Tyke through Bantam with the Warriors.
Bell Warriors and Sacred Heart high school alumni Brad Cowan will start his professional football career in his own backyard. The Ottawa Redblacks made the Ashton native their first pick in the sixth round of the recent Canadian Football League entry draft. The six-foot, three-inch 235-pound linebacker is a graduate of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks where he won the Yates Cup, emblematic of the Ontario University Association championship, in his rookie season. In the 2019 season, Cowan had 27 tackles and was credited with 2 ½ sacks.
“We think he’ll be good to compete in special teams right away,” first-year Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice said of Cowan after the draft. Cowan played peewee and bantam with the Warriors which draws players from Stittsville, Richmond, Goulbourn, Bells Corners, Bayshore, Britannia and Crystal Beach. He won awards at both levels before moving on to the Bel-Air Norsemen for midget play. It was there he won the National Capital Amateur Football Association league championship and first caught the attention of university recruiters.
“One thing I always appreciated in my years coaching Brad was that he had great football instincts and was very athletic and agile for such a big young man,” says Paul Stewart, his former Warriors coach. Cowan received the Bell Warriors Jim Wagdin Scholarship in 2016. At that time, he acknowledged that the club had taught
him the importance of teamwork, commitment and putting the best interests of the team ahead of
“We are so happy for and proud of Brad with all he has accomplished,” Stewart told Your Community Voice. “It is awesome to see him continue to strive to fulfill his dream of playing pro football in the CFL and to have an opportunity to do it with our home team the Redblacks is truly amazing.”
Courtesy of Our Community Voice, John Curry, Vol. 3 No. 2, May 21, 2020
“Behind all of your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begins.”
Happy Mother’s Day to all of our Warriors Moms!
The Bell Warriors Football Club have had some really
tremendous young men represent our club long … …
It is with regret, but not surprise, that we have had to cancel the Spring Co-Ed Flag Football program and Girl’s Touch Football program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is still some hope that we may have options for our Girl’s Touch Football program later in the year. Refunds have been recently sent to all who paid on line.
The Bell Warriors Football Club hope this finds you relatively well and healthy. Please stay safe everyone and strong. Our conviction will get us through this and BETTER DAYS WILL COME!
Here are some great guidelines to Isolate at Home: READ MORE
Stay up-to-date on best practices, travel restrictions and social distancing to be sure we are all doing our part to limit the impact of this highly infectious virus.
BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Warriors Alumni Brad Cowan
who recently competed at the CFL Regional Combine … …
Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Daniel Briere who has just committed with the U of Ottawa GEE GEES. Daniel was the most humble, coachable, pleasant but driven, competitive, and focused player our coaches could ever ask for. Daniel got it. He led with his actions which led him to his many successes as a Warrior and this exciting announcement.
LtoR: Mike Briere (father), Daniel Briere, Carla Coker (mother)
Daniel Briere with Gee Gees Head Coach Jamie Barresi
Tackle Football (Ages 8-18), Co-Ed Flag Football (Ages 5-15), and Girl’s
Touch Football (Ages 10-23) registrations are now open. Check … …
The Bell Warriors Football Club is very excited to announce
our head coaches for the 2020 tackle … …
T: (613) 838-4279
E: info@bellwarriors.ca
M: P.O. Box 1269,
Richmond, ON K0A 2Z0
