Two former members of the Canadian Armed Forces will be managing a new minor football league this fall, one on the field and the other on the administration side.
Arthur Laramie, a former competitive football player, has brought his passion for coaching on the gridiron while Brittany Laramie will be the league commissioner. The married couple were both members of Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry. They have been involved in local football since they retired from the Armed Forces eight years ago.
They hope to create the Kingston Football League with the help of community partners including Tourism Kingston and BGC South East. The league will field teams in the Under 10, U12, and U14 divisions.
“We have a great board that just wants to bring an elevated house league for football players,” says Arthur. “I’m the background person who organizes thing with the help of the board of directors,” Brittany adds. Her duties will include fields and facilities bookings, organizing equipment, formulating the teams among other duties.
The league will be sanctioned by Football Ontario and Football Canada. The Laramies are looking for volunteer coaches and managers for the inaugural season. No football knowledge necessary. The couple have produced a handbook for coaches to teach young players the basics of minor football including drills and plays.
“They’ll help the kids flourish and get ready if they want to take the next step to the AAA Grenadiers football or high school and hopefully on to Queen’s University football,” says Arthur.
“We really want to make sure this league is an elevated football experience that we believe Kingston is ready for,” Brittany adds. “Kids who get into sports early build such incredible relationships –not only with their peers—but they also find mentorship with coaches, so the continuity is there. For kids to be able get into football young and know they’re supported all the way through to whatever level they want to compete at, that’s really important—specially in the Kingston community.
“Football is a great way for kids to find something to do in the fall,” Brittany continues. “Maybe they don’t necessarily fit into the hockey or basketball scene, it’s not their jam and they’re looking for something different.”
Arthur says the new league will build lasting relationships with high school football, the Kingston Grenadiers Football Club, and Queen’s University football.
“We can show an eight-year-old athlete there’s a local pathway for them through football. It’s super important for us for player development.”
Arthur played football as a young boy in Sherwood Park, Alberta and continued playing club football for the Edmonton Huskies until 2004 when the Huskies won the national championship. The couple moved to Kingston to be near Brittany’s family after their respective military careers ended.
“I did two tours of Afghanistan and on my way out I got into coaching in 2016,” says Arthur. He coached local high school teams the Ernestown Eagles and Frontenac Falcons as well as with the Kingston Grenadiers and the Queen’s women eleven-on-eleven contact flag football.
“I was an offensive lineman and defensive nose guard my entire career, so I lived in trenches,” says Arthur, “so it’s funny that I went into the infantry, the transition was seamless!”
And Arthur’s military experience feeds back into his philosophy as a coach.
“As I was transitioning out of the military I wanted to give back to young adults and give them the foundation of teamwork, selflessness, esprit de corps, and just being a good person on and off the field. Because these are the things that set me up for success.
“The first thing I like to do is find their limit and teach them how they can mentally push themselves past the physical limitations that they set on themselves.”
Brittany also sees the important life lessons learned by young athletes on the football field. “I see the teamwork and the relationships that are built on the field with kids who are supporting each other, making sure that they do their job and that they understand their responsibility. Those things are so important to the development of kids.”
“At the end of the day, the score doesn’t matter,” Arthur emphasizes. “What matters is the effort in the weeks of practice, the weeks at home visualizing the success, and the effort on the field on game day. If we lose, it’s with grace, eyes up, good handshakes, smiles, and thanks to our opponents for teaching us something about ourselves.”
For more information on the league contact brittany@kingstonfootball.ca.
Tourism Kingston is proud to support local coaches and volunteers like Arthur and Brittanie Laramie who give their time and energy to help young people connect to community through sport.
