Woodstock Wolverines ramping up for the 2026 football season

The Woodstock Wolverines are gearing up for the 2026 season, and their development program recently held an event with members of the Woodstock Police Service. The officers talked about the importance of teamwork and making good choices. It’s more than just football. (Contributed photo)

Lee Griffi, Editor

Football may not seem to be as popular as hockey or soccer in the city, but one look at the Wolverines social media channels paints a picture of a growing association.

The club has announced a plethora of coaching appointments and new programs as the 2026 season kicks off.

Jason Congdon as head coach of the U18 team, someone executive director Joe Brown played high school football with in St. Thomas, after former coach Dan Fitzgerald decided to focus on a career in firefighting.

“Congdon played in the CFL for a few years, so I called him and asked if he was interested in coaching. I need someone to mentor a young coaching staff and he agreed. I wanted to keep the majority of coaches from last year because they are young and eager to learn.”

Congdon spent four seasons at the University of Western Ontario and four years in the CFL as a linebacker with Winnipeg, Montreal and Hamilton.

“Having someone with Jason’s CFL experience leading our U18 program is a huge win for our athletes,” said Brown. “He understands the standards, preparation, and mindset required to succeed at the next level, and he knows how to translate that into meaningful development for young players.”

He added the program is growing in terms of the number of players and teams, something aided by a developmental league.

“We ran a house league for the ages of 7 to 14. All of the kids who aged out of that program, each of their parents reached out to us to say hey, our kids are playing high school football this year and it’s not great. Why don’t you have a U16 travel team this year?”

A town hall meeting yielded about 60 families and the ball started rolling from there.

“They were given the local businesses we thought could help out financially, because we need to order all new helmets, shoulder pads and everything else, so there is a big price tag. We’re doing that with the U18 guys as well because last year we borrowed from the high schools.”

Brown said the goal is to have the association have its own, high-quality gear and roughly 120 sets of equipment are needed.

“People in the community have really stepped up, and we did a big NFL VIP fundraiser last year, which raised quite a bit of money. We’ve done car washes, 50-50 draws, a cookie drive before Christmas, you name it, we’ve tried it.”

Brown said as the club’s momentum has been building, more people have reached out to participate on and off the field.

“It’s been outstanding. Traditionally, we’ve always been a baseball and hockey town. When we announced the U18 last year, we had all of these local football fans reaching out and asking how they could get involved. Some said they used to coach or their son wanted to play, and it has been an amazing response.”

Since the Wolverines restarted the program following the pandemic, its development program has grown from 60 participants to nearly 150 this year.

“We’re growing pretty quickly. For me, in my role with the organization, my role is to get the funding sorted out, get facilities booked, order shirts and equipment, it’s been non-stop.”

Brown said he is always looking for new sponsors but highlighted two in particular who have stepped up – Canadian Tire and the Foundation Brothers.

More information is available at www.woodstockwolverines.ca.