Working together for the greater good

As the Sault Steelers look toward a return to Northern Football Conference action in the summer of 2018, a crucial part of the organization moving forward is a good relationship with the Sault Amateur Football League.

As the program pushes forward, communication between representatives from the Steelers and various parts of Sault Amateur Football has also grown.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Steve Nott, head coach of the Sault Sabercats varsity team and president of the Sault Amateur Football League. “It’s been long overdue and to have that opportunity, you look at the guys involved, we all played for or with each other at some point, so it makes sense.

“It just makes sense that we should all be on the same page and supporting each other and way we can,” Nott added.

Paul Caldbick, who has been a part of the Steelers program in some form off and on since 1981 and is involved in helping bring the program back, said the relationship between the Steelers and Sault Amateur Football League is important.

“It’s huge,” Paul Caldbick. “Coming back (to the NFC) isn’t just about recruiting players. We want to continue to work on establishing those partnerships with SMFA, with the Sabercats, with businesses and community agencies. We want to view ourselves as a community team.

“When we can do things together, that just means that we’re going to have a better football product in the end,” Caldbick added.

Nott called the return of Steelers football a positive in a city that has a thriving minor football system.

“As a fan of the game, it’s great to have something that you can go watch at a high level that men are still playing and it’s great to have our kids have an option to go to,” Nott said. “Some of the kids are succeeding in university but there are always going to be kids that either want to go the college route or go right off to work and still have a passion and love for the game. It’s exciting for us to have those kids graduate and not have to say their goodbyes to the sport.”

Nott said that since the Sabercats merged with Sault Minor Football, the minor football program has grown to the point where it sees up to 400 kids playing in the summer.

“The parents seem to be excited and the kids seem to be excited,” Nott said of the growth of minor football locally. “We’ve focused a lot on the safety of the game and that’s starting to show now. The parents really appreciate the amount money we put into equipment and the amount of time we put into training coaches.”

And with the growth of minor football locally, it could be a big step for the future of football at all levels.