Vance & Shelly Curtis
Football Achievement - Inducted 2010
Vance and Shelley Curtis have coached and managed the Rocky Rebels High School football program for over 35 years. This has been a total commitment involving Vance as head coach and Shelley as the team manager, trainer, time keeper and scorekeeper. They have been responsible for recruiting players, fundraising, ordering equipment, collecting team fees, maintaining and setting up the football field, organizing road trips, implementing the spring training program, and attending league meetings. Their dedication and selflessness to the sport, is reflected through these and many other tasks the couple have undertaken and performed with the Rebels football team.
In 1998, Vance received the Mayor’s Recognition for Athletics Award, for 24 years of continued leadership of the high school football team. In 2001, the Rocky Mountain House and District Chamber of Commerce presented Vance and Shelley with the Community Service Award for their ongoing dedication and commitment to the community, through their work with children and youth. In 2007, during the Rocky Rebels Football Team’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, the Rebels Football Alumni, the Wild Rose School Board, and the Rocky Mountain House community, unveiled a new sign, renaming the Rebels football field the “Curtis Field”, in their honour.
Vance and Shelley inspire the community of Rocky Mountain House with their dedication to the positive development of young men through the game of football. High School Football in Alberta is better today because of their dedication, leadership, and devotion to the players and to the sport.
After Induction
Vance Curtis was named Football Alberta coach of the year at an awards ceremony on March 10, 2012. In the opening round of the 2011 provincial championships, he coached the Rocky Rebels team to a victory over the top-ranked Holy Rosary Raiders. The Rebels earned a berth in the provincial Tier IV semi-finals.
The Rebels have received the Central Alberta Football League’s sportsmanship award seven of 11 years, which speaks a lot of Vance Curtis’s coaching philosophy and team management.
