A couple of weeks ago, the Valley Minor Football Association achieved a significant milestone in its relatively short history.

The Valley Bantam Bulldogs outlasted a talented Timberlea squad 13-7 to capture the association's first-ever provincial championship.

Don't let the relatively low final score fool you: football games are sometimes low-scoring, and are more often than not won by the team playing the best defense.

From all accounts, the Bulldogs did just that. According to Valley head coach Jonathan Ingles, most of the game was played in the Timberlea end of the field - a credit to both the Valley defensive and offensive units.

The Bulldogs deserve a lot of credit for the win, which came against a team that had defeated them earlier in the season.

Ingles and his coaching staff did a great job preparing the team, and the players went out and got the job done, securing the win with a last-quarter scoring drive.

I wasn't at the game, played on the turf at Huskies Stadium in Halifax - a thrill in itself, I would expect, for young football players. It's where the “big boys� play; or, at least, as big as it gets around here right now until the CFL comes to town.

I've been around at the end of enough championship games, though, to know what it's like when you win - and when you don't. Believe me, it's a lot nicer when you do.

I was fortunate enough to be forwarded some photos, including one I'm particularly glad I was given; and I wasted no time loading them onto our website. One showed Tom Nichols and Randy Lawrence standing with the championship trophy, the look on their face a combination of pride and maybe a bit of disbelief.

Anyone involved closely with Valley Minor Football doesn't need to be told who Nichols and Lawrence are. It's not much of a stretch, in fact, to suggest they are Valley Minor Football.

Even though it's the youngsters who actually play the game, it's because of Nichols and Lawrence, and others like them, they actually can.

More than eight years ago, Nichols, Lawrence and a few others had a dream Valley youngsters would be able to play organized minor football against the rest of the province.

Their vision was born from a love of the game, and a belief it is one of the very best of team sports that teaches teamwork, fair play and motivation; a sport local youngsters could benefit greatly from playing.

Like any organization, Valley Minor Football has had its growing pains. I'm sure the association executive thought more than once about packing it in, but they persevered, and earlier this month, were rewarded for that persistence.

Valley Minor Football started with a Peewee team, which was joined a year later - seven years ago now - by a Bantam team for players a little older.

This year saw the start of a Mite program, for players eight to 10 years old, plus a spring league for older players, and the VMFA deserves at least some of the credit for the advent of high school football this year at both NKEC and Avon View.

Both the Peewee and Bantam Bulldogs have been competitive since day one. They haven't always won, but they've always been in there fighting.

This wasn’t the Bantams’ first trip to the provincial final: four or five years ago, they hosted the final at Camp Aldershot and dropped a close decision to a team from Sydney.

Two seasons ago, the Peewees and Bantams both qualified for the playoffs in the same season, another first for the association.

As I mentioned in a previous column, a high point for the VMFA came earlier this year when three former Bulldogs - Jake Spinney, Adrian Graves and Jacob Sampson - were all in uniform for Atlantic university teams in the same game. A number of former Bulldogs suited up for the NKEC Titans this fall for their first season in high school play.

To me, one of the most impressive aspects of the growth of Valley Minor Football, and the on-going commitment of its executive, has been its infrastructure.

When its relationship with Camp Aldershot dissolved, the association needed a new field for the Bulldogs. The VMFA did forged a relationship with the Kinsmen club and, through hard work, a new field became a reality.

Last year, the Bulldogs lost their clubhouse facilities, which were located in the former Cornwallis District High School adjacent to the Kinsmen Field in Canning. Again, the association persevered, and a new clubhouse should be completed and fully operational in time for the 2007 spring league season.

To me, it's no surprise Valley Minor Football has continued to be successful. On-field success is directly proportional to off-field commitment, after all, and individuals like Lawrence and Nichols have both talked the talk and walked the walk.

The good thing is, I've heard nothing to suggest their commitment is going to end anytime soon.