ST. PAUL – John Lumby has been a pillar of St. Paul’s football program since he moved to the community in 2001.
He was involved with the creation of St. Paul’s football bantam team in 2004 – the St. Paul Bengals. Lumby first coached the Bengals alongside Steve Johnson, and throughout the years, Lumby has coached the Bengals and the high school level Lions.
According to Football Alberta, Lumby was an integral part of leading the Lions to three Tier IV Alberta Bowl appearances in 2017, 2018, and 2022. While the Lions failed to secure champions in those years, in 2023, they finally won their first provincial championship.
Lumby’s defensive coaching was a major contributor. On March 16, Football Alberta announced that, “For long-term and current excellence, John Lumby is the High School Tier IV Coach of the Year for 2023.”
Asked how he felt about the award, Lumby was quick to credit everyone involved with the St. Paul football program and the Lions.
“Head coach [Mark] Tichkowsky won the same award last year - that’s two years in a row winning that particular award. So, we’re definitely getting noticed a bit in the province of what we’re doing with football,” said Lumby.
And that acknowledgement is the fruit of the overall team effort within the St. Paul Lions.
“First of all, the players themselves... what a terrific group of guys we had... a very special group who really brought in everything that we coached them,” said Lumby.
Then there is the coaching staff for both the Bengals and the Lions. Lumby explained that the Bengals feed the Lions with great players. “That’s a huge part of it... success of the coaching at the bantam level.”
Both the coaches of the bantam and the high school teams also work with each other, sharing ideas and suggestions with each other. “I take a lot of suggestions from other coaches... we really are just figuring things out together as a team of coaches,” Lumby said. “I’ve been influenced by all these coaches.”
It is a team effort that paid off, with the Lions winning Tier IV Alberta Bowl in 2023, and the Bengals also winning their own provincial championships two years in a row.
Without support from friends and families of the players and coaches, success would not have been possible. Lumby especially thanks his wife for supporting him throughout all the years he has been coaching.
“I’m gone for long stretches at a time and my wife is always supportive.”
