Good parents always want to give their kids opportunities to fulfill themselves, but how far will you go to help them achieve that?
That’s a question Shawn Lord can measure in kilometres — hundreds of them every week when he or his former spouse, Nicole, drive their 15-year-old son Pierre-Luc to Salmon Arm so he can play on that city’s Chargers’ bantam football team.
“I drive him to and from Salmon Arm on Thursdays and Saturdays and Nicole goes on Tuesdays — that’s three times a week for practices and there are games on Sundays,” Lord said in an interview. “That’s a lot of driving but it’s worth it. Pierre-Luc has a natural talent and a real passion for the game. Heck, we even drove five hours to Cranbrook so he could play a 48-minute game. He scored three touchdowns.”
Nicole says the hours of driving to and from practice and weekend games out of town are worth it in other ways, too.
“Pierre-Luc is so happy,” she said in an interview. “He has made so many new friends that all the driving is worth it.”
She goes to just about every game and said the Chargers will likely make the playoffs and may even advance to the provincial championships. Getting there will demand all the skill Pierre-Luc has.
The Grade 10 student at RSS is, his dad says, a pretty good running back, wide receiver and kickoff return and it showed in Cranbrook on Oct. 11 when the Chargers beat the local Rams 41-6 in frigid conditions.
“So far he’s had six touchdowns, five, technically, I guess because one was called back,” Lord said, adding that he wishes there was a team here in Revelstoke so they wouldn’t have to drive more than 700 kilometres a week.
He even fantasizes about forming a BC Minor Football Association team, the Revelstoke Raiders. He’d even coach it.
“Give me enough money and one year and I can guarantee results,” Lord says. “I will not be out-coached.”
An American, Lord says he coached for three years in California.
“I love the game,” he says. “Pierre-Luc loves the game. I’ll bet there are a lot of kids here who love it, too.”
Here’s a four-image combo that shows some of Pierre-Luc’s skill on the field:
