a st Albert peewee football team takes home the provincial championship, thanks in large part to their coach who faces battles of his own this season.
Scott Wallace, the defensive coordinator for the St. Albert 49ers was a huge motivator for the team throughout the season, all while dealing with a second cancer diagnosis.
Wallace has directed four years in St. Albert off, three years while working with a team his son plays for – including this year.
The 49ers were undefeated in their championship, and Wallace says that is the result of the team’s hard work and dedication.
“To achieve that and have an undefeated season is pretty awesome,” he said. “It takes a lot of dedication to go through the grind of a season like this. Everyone wants to be the one to beat you when you go into games undefeated.”
His son’s season got off to a bit of a slow start as he dealt with his father’s cancer recurrence, but he came through “and made a big difference in our playoff run,” Wallace said of his son.
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Last November, Wallace was diagnosed with throat cancer, which was treated with surgery and radiation. By spring he was declared cancer-free. But a scan in June showed the cancer had returned – this time it was stage four, terminal.
“I have four tumors in my liver, one in my femur and two in my spine.” But he still showed up to every practice, to every game, all while undergoing more treatment. He also worked with personal training clients.
“I just keep fighting and living. You don’t give up, you just live. And I live with passion.”
He said coaching has really helped him deal with his health.
“Cancer does not define me. Cancer is just something that happened to me. What defines me is being a coach, working out, soccer, working out, training others, helping others achieve their goals. So, the ability to come to practice and watch these kids develop and help make them better and see them reach their goals is just amazing to me. Wonderful.”
Seeing him show up, knowing what he’s going through, inspires the kids to work harder.
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“They would look after me and do anything for me. And I would do anything for them,” Wallace said through the tears of the tight-knit group of defensive players he coaches.
“It’s been amazing,” player Elijah Espinoza said of the season and getting to work with Wallace. “I felt I could do anything.”
Fellow teammate Cole Deiner also expressed his gratitude for his coach.
“If we didn’t do that with Coach Scott and as a whole team, we wouldn’t have had as good a season as we did.”
Wallace said it was really special to see his son win a championship, and with a team he coached, no less.
“I’m all about hard work, I’m all about effort… If you put in the time you will be rewarded. It takes the same stuff, whether you’re a pro, amateur or pee wee football coach, you have to put in the same amount of work to get the rewards, and these kids did it.”
“The fact that I have cancer is just another motivator for me, and the kids fed that,” he added.
He hopes that in years to come, when the children go through hardships, they can look back and use this time as inspiration.
“If this is my last year coaching football, what a way to end.”
– With files from Sarah Komadina, Global News
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
