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Brennan Doig has always been proud to be a Sabre and this year, he was named captain of the Varsity team, leading the squad to many memories on and off the field.
Looking back at how he got started, Doig says he's always loved soccer. "When I was playing elementary school, we always played a ton on the school field there and I remember some really competitive games. From there, I played rec league all the way through but only entered competitive soccer in my grade nine year at the SRSS. From there, it's been a battle to work my way up and become a much better player. I've really developed thanks to my coach Steve Rebizant, he has a local program, the Performance Soccer Academy, he's been a huge help in getting me into the position I am in now."
Entering the SRSS can be intimidating on his own but Doig says going out for the soccer team as a grade nine was a different beast. "Honestly, it was very humbling. I remember I got cut from varsity and placed on the junior varsity team in grade nine. Every year, it was a fight for every single spot. We always had such a high level of talent coming through that team, but I will say, all the older guys ahead of me were super supportive, they always built up the team around them. That's kind of what I tried to aim to do for all our guys now."
Going through those battles has given Doig the knowledge and ability to help younger players as he got older. "It has totally helped. Even guys who are my age, they had some rough times, whether they're quieter guys are were not as strong as players heading into that grade nine season or moved schools. Being able to connect with the younger guys who I know for sure don't have the same connection with everyone on the team, it definitely gave me an insight into what they're seeing and helped me relate to them. We connected very well this year and there's a lot of chemistry on this team"
Doig says he couldn't have asked for a better group in his senior season. "Going onto the field with this group of guys, every single day, it was an honour. I think it was the most fun I've ever had on a team. We were all super connected, always having lots of fun on and off the field, practices were always a blast, I always looked forward to every single event or game, whatever we had on the table. Being able to fight beside them, too, we had some scrappy games this year. Standing up for the guys was one of the best experiences I've had in a long time. Just having that camaraderie was really exciting."
Recently, the Sabres went into the provincial tournament and while things didn't got as they planned, Doig and the team still found positives. "We had really high hopes going into that after our qualifier game against Northland Parkway Collegiate, we won that game at home and we thought we'd make it all the way to the finals. But, we got knocked out by Shaftsburry, who we had a rivalry with this year. Coming back into that third place game, I kind of made it clear to the guys that this last game was for the seniors, we needed to get the win to send us off nicely. There were nine graduating guys on the team this year and it was exciting to get that bronze medal win. It wasn't what we were hoping for, but it was nice to get that."
The nine graduating players led by Doig, made sure to take a few minutes after the game to soak in the moments. "We went out for lunch that same day and just chatted about previous years, all those bus rides to and from games. There was just constant chatter with those guys. We're hoping to have another reunion before school lets out. We'll see what happens but I know I'll stay tight with a lot of these guys, we play together for the Hanover Kickers, as well."
At the core of it all, Doig says it's been his honour to represent the Sabres organization and it's something he'll forever cherish. "I appreciate all the guys insanely. They were the ones that got me into the captainship role, it wasn't placed or anything, it was their backing and support that put me there. I'm honoured to have been given that role, I can't thank them enough. It's absolutely my most favourite team that I've every played for. I love those guys insanley and I'll remember this for the rest of my life."