A long-time driving force in the St. Albert Minor Football Association (SAMFA) is this year’s recipient of Football Alberta’s Life Membership Award.
“It really took me by surprise as I drift off into the sunset with SAMFA,” said an appreciative Mike Moulds.
His involvement in football spanned more than 20 years at the minor and high school levels in St. Albert. As a coach and administrator, he has overseen great changes in all levels of the sport in the community. He has seen two sons through minor football and soldiered on in service at the minor level after their graduation to high school where he also volunteered his time as an assistant coach on their teams.
“Even though I’m still helping out Bellerose when work allows me to, you can never really leave football entirely,” Moulds said. “I learned a lot of things coaching football, starting at 18. Kids need to belong to something in life and football is a great organization to belong to because of the teamwork that is involved.
“I’ve had players go to Canadian universities, United States universities and even the CFL but I never really thought of myself as a good coach but one that loves the game and wanted that to show through.”
As the president of SAMFA for the past eight years, Moulds encouraged the growth of the game at all levels and spent countless hours over the past four years negotiating with the City of St. Albert in the development of the new artificial turf stadium in Riel Park. With the completion of the Riel Park project, he stepped down as president, leaving an amazing legacy to the future players in the St. Albert area.
Moulds’ achievements were also chronicled in a Football Alberta press release trumpeting his dedication and passion for the sport.
“Mike is the kind of person who always put the kids first. If one of the teams in SAMFA was short a coach or two he would always volunteer his time as much as possible to make sure everyone who signed up got a quality season. His development of the Panther bantam program made sure that everyone who signed at that level got to play in years when the traditional teams in St. Albert had too many players,” said the press release.
“Mike and his wife Joanne are always the first to arrive at the field each day when there are games in St. Albert and the last to leave, having co-ordinated the concession for the past several years.
“Mike has also made SAMFA a welcoming place where coach and volunteer feel valued and appreciated and the retention rate for those people from year to year is astounding.
“As an RCMP officer Mike has given his time and effort to the city in spades over the years just by doing his job, but it’s in the extra areas such as his commitment to football in his community that make him a special candidate for this award.”
