TNT Express Football Logo
The TNT Express Football club was formed in 2003 growing out of the old Beeton Express Football club which was founded by John Beram in 1998 and sponsored by the Beeton Athletic Association. Several volunteers got together to organize the new club into an independent organization operating as the TNT Express Football Club.
That first season in 2003, the club operated 4 teams in 3 different leagues. An intermediate team (11 and 12 year olds) registered with Brampton Minor Football, a peewee team (13 and 14 year olds) in the South Central Football League and a bantam (15 and 16 year olds) and a collegiate team (17, 18 and 19 year olds) both playing in the Central Ontario Minor Football league. That first year brought numerous challenges for the fledgling club both on and off the field. Money worries, a shortage of coaches and volunteers as well as other issues gave the new executive many difficult decisions to make. It was during this time however that a new enthusiasm was born for football in New Tecumseth which manifested itself the following autumn. The members of the Pee Wee coaching staff offered to assist with the junior team at Banting high school and they managed to catch lightning in a bottle, taking the juniors to a GBSSA championship for the first time in 25 years. This development would spark more interest in TNT for the following spring season as players grabbed the chance to play more competitive football outside of the high school system.
2004 saw many improvements within the club as the executive, with a valuable years experience under their belts began to put a solid infrastructure in place. One of the biggest decisions that was made was to discontinue the collegiate team which had suffered badly due to a shortage of players. The intermediate program was moved over to play in conjunction with the Orangeville house league system and the Bantam team became a junior varsity team in SCOFL. With these changes made, the fee structure was reviewed and adjusted to put the club on a sound financial footing. The benefits of these moves were immediately apparent as the club was able to finish paying off the BAA for the equipment and pay all necessary expenses out of registration revenue and even have a modest balance left over. The performance on the field was also much improved with the intermediate team leading the Orangeville league all season and only losing out in the championship game. The junior varsity team was also very competitive finishing second and losing the championship game by one point to Huronia.
The 2005 season was the best yet from the administrative side of things, with more coaches and other volunteers than ever before, a fully balanced budget which included significant expenditures for equipment improvement and an intermediate program which double in size. A clothing line featuring the newly chosen club logo was introduced and the sale of hats, shirts and bandannas was very brisk.
The increasing popularity of football in the area was clearly seen at Banting with a record number of 92 players being involved with the junior and senior teams, 35 of whom came out of the Express spring program. 2006 promises to be a banner year for Express football. The club will be a registered, notfor- profit corporation and will hold its first official AGM on November 8, 2005 to elect a new executive board. Exciting new initiatives will be put into.
The 2006 season started off with a number of administrative improvements for TNT including registration as an official non-profit corporation. While at the Annual General Meeting a full board of directors was officially elected to take care of the day to day operations of the club. There were 2 Atom teams competing in the Orangeville house league and the number 1 team got the thrill of competing for the championship at the Rogers Centre. The Peewee and JV teams were moved over to the newly formed OMFL and the Peewee team had a solid season going 7 and 2 and being ousted in the semi-finals by the eventual champs from Georgetown. The JV squad had better numbers on the roster and was more competitive with a 4 and 4 record but showed great promise for the future with some solid first year players. TNT would also be fully involved with the Banting program providing coaches at both the junior and senior levels.
The 2007 season saw all of the TNT teams competing in the OMFL including 2 entries in the Atom division. This idea did not work out too well as neither team had the numbers to compete effectively. The Peewee team competed well against the other larger centres ending up in 3rd place of 7 teams. The JV team gelled in mid-season and finished very strongly winning 3 of their last 4. This season also saw the introduction of the TNT website and extended e-mail communication with players and their families. This season also saw the introduction of the TNT winter skills camp which was a huge success with over 70 players registered for the 10 week football training and fitness program.
2008 was a truly banner year for TNT football both on and off the field. The executive group did an outstanding job of managing the clubs resources and fund-raising which allowed for several exciting developments. The chief of these was the ordering of our very own electronic scoreboard which was to be installed on the field at Mel Mitchell by the 2009 season. In addition a full 5 man blocking sled, 4 pop-up tackling dummies and a single man blocking sled were all ordered for use in the upcoming season. The winter skills camp was a big hit again with 81 players enrolled. Most importantly the clubs on the field performance had never been better. The combined Atom team had a solid growth season and ended up with a 3 and 4 record, picking up valuable game experience. Both the JV team and the Peewee team were dominant and both teams would be in the OMFL championship games in their division. The Peewee team lost to the Junior Argos but gave them all they could handle all game long. The JV team provided one of the most exciting games in memory and would eventually lose by one point on the final play of the game.
2009 was another growth season for TNT. The winter skills camp was the largest it has ever been, with 94 players working out at the Buell Centre. Financially the club was able to provide all players with a sport bag; Logo’d and in the Club colours, of course, in addition to a nice golf shirt. This year was also TNT’s first foray into an “All Star” type of game with selected JV and Peewee players who would pit their abilities against junior and senior high school teams from Oshawa. Coach Alex Troop was instrumental in setting this game up at his Alma Mater Laurier University under the auspices of head coach Jeffries and his staff. This event was designed to give the players a feel for the “University” experience as they would gather for breakfast and then ride the bus up to Laurier for the game. After 2 weeks of intense practice in cold, drizzly conditions the TNT squads were ready to roll into Waterloo and do battle. Despite the poor weather before and a snow storm the day after it was 70 degrees and sunny for both games. The junior team got a great workout from their counterparts from Oshawa but they were unable to generate enough points for a victory. The senior team, however, was dominant and won handily. The new Tyke team, made up of 9 and 10 year olds had a fun season of learning and development as they embraced the challenge of becoming the next stars of the league. The Atoms were solid once more and gave a tough Mississauga team all they could handle before falling in the quarter finals. The Peewees went undefeated and made it to the championship before falling to the Mississauga Warriors. The JV team had their season disrupted seriously by several long gaps in the schedule due to other teams folding and could not develop any consistency and lost to Orangeville in the quarters. The Season’s End Awards Banquet was successful but subdued because of the tragic loss of Dodge Goulter in an auto accident. Dodge lived and breathed TNT football and his absence was keenly felt. The club has decided to retire his number 84 in his honor and has renamed the “President’s Trophy” the “Dodge Goulter Memorial Trophy”