Why did Doug Steeves involve himself so heavily in high school football throughout his life?  Why was he personally responsible for the start of all three high school programs in the City of Brandon? “I really enjoyed coaching and I couldn’t say no,” said Steeves, a native of Moncton, NB who became a major part of the amateur sports scene in Brandon since arriving in 1967 to serve as athletic director at Brandon University.

Armed with a degree in physical education from Springfield College in Massachusetts, Steeves warmed up for his major impact on high school football in Manitoba by getting two other programs off the ground in Eastern Canada.  At his first high school job in Dartmouth, no football program existed until Steeves got the ball rolling in 1956.  Two years later, he moved to Hudson Heights, PQ and did the same thing, started a school football program from scratch.

In Brandon, the only high school football at the time was the Brandon Krugers, an independent team made up of players from all three schools.  In the early 70s, Steeves helped transform the Krugers into a one-school team, the Neelin Spartans.  They played in a Western Manitoba High School League and thrived under his guidance.

It was while Steeves was on a one-year sabbatical from BU in 1977-78, studying at Arizona State University in Tempe, that he got a call from Dwight Kearns at Crocus Plains, asking Steeves if he would spearhead a drive to get a football program going at Crocus Plains.  He jumped at the chance.  While coaching the Plainsmen, the team played in the Winnipeg High School Football League, and brought glory to Brandon by winning the league championship in 1987.

In the early 1990s, with Vincent Massey anxious to get its own high school team, Doug Steeves was asked to start the Vikings’ program. “I finally packed it in in 1996,” said Steeves.  “Massey was the last team I coached.”

Having all three Brandon schools involved in the Rural Manitoba Football League now brought great satisfaction to Doug Steeves.  “I feel tremendous about it,” he said.  “I often go to practices and see the kids I coached now involved themselves in coaching.  They’re carrying on the tradition.  I know what it’s like.  It gets in your blood.  Once you start coaching, it’s hard to stop.”