On Friday, October 6th players from the Provincial Championship Warriors Football Team of 1983 reunited amongst the current roster of Warrior high school football players.
After a motivational pep talk to start the game from Jim Sekulich, coach of the 1983 championship team, the Senior Warriors of 2023 went on to defeat Yorkton Sacred Heart 43-0.
After the win, Coach Sekulich reminded the current Warriors, “When you win 43-0, you need to work your butt off next practice. I don’t want anybody getting a fat head. Enjoy this win, you did a good job”.
The Warriors of 1983 gathered at the Esterhazy Legion Hall after the game to share stories of their championship season.
The Warriors defeated the Shaunavon Shadows 40-1 in the 1983 provincial final led by the duo of coaches, Jim Sekulich and Ken Johnson.
The 1983 team defeated the defending provincial champion Shadows that year and were undefeated throughout regular season play, scoring more than 500 points while giving up only slightly over 80 on the defensive side.
Coach Ken Johnson, deceased, was represented by Mrs. Johnson at the event. She said to the attendees, “Thank you for inviting me here. It’s been very special. And if Ken would’ve been alive, he would’ve been here just having a good time with you as well. Ken always said that there were three characteristics that made up a champion. He said physical attributes, intelligence (smarts) and motivation, along with the drive and commitment to achieve. And he saw that in the 1983 football team. Ken and Jim pushed you to be the best over his 30 years of coaching. He had a number of teams that he coached, but you in ‘83, you had that determination to win and be the boss”.
Coach Jim Sekulich talked about the previous football year, in 1982, when they had an equally strong football team but they lost in the playoffs.
“The year before, we lost out to Balgonie. I remember sensing that we weren’t right coming off of the bus. We didn’t seem to have the drive for 4 quarters. There’s two sides to coaching. The one side is you coach to win – develop the skills and execute the skills. The other side of the coin is that you coach to not lose, and they are not the same. Coaching to not lose means you have done everything on the one side of the coin, but your heads get a little fat, too overconfident, and you end up losing. It was my job to make certain that anytime I see that, I stop it”.
The Warriors lost out in the 1982 playoffs and the coaches ensured that they took care of both sides of the coin the year after during their championship win.
One story that was shared at the event was that, in 1983, the team was on their way to an away game and the players’ focus seemed distracted. Coach Jim asked the bus driver to stop, and he walked up and down the aisle. Simply stated, he said he did not like the players’ attitude and they needed to focus. He said, “Not another word until we get on the field”.
The team quickly regained their focus after the coach’s words and went on to continue their undefeated season.
Coach Sekulich played with Balfour in Regina when he was in grade nine and grade ten. The coach said that team won provincials both years, undefeated. “That school went five years undefeated and won five provincial championships”.
Sekulich now lives in British Columbia and stays active playing pickleball, hiking and playing competitive bridge. He said, “I still love to compete”.