Kris Scoran understands the value of football and what it can do for your confidence, leadership and overall attitude towards life. 

When he was seven years old, his dad introduced him to the sport, and while he had reservations at first, his attitude quickly changed. 

“I was the kid that didn’t want to go to football. My dad made me go. I was crying when he dropped me off for practice. Part of it was I was the fat kid, so you don’t get picked first for stuff like that. All of a sudden I’m playing football, and it’s we love this. You’re the biggest kid out here, this is fantastic,” he recalls.

“Football changed me. It sent me into a different direction, which is where I started to love the game. I’m appreciated for being a big dude. You get those players who maybe don’t fit in in other sports, and then they come to football, and there’s always a spot for you.”

Scoran has been involved in the sport ever since, investing his time over the last three decades as a player, coach and leader. This season, he embarks on a new journey, assuming the role of head coach for the first time, with the WWCFL’s Winnipeg Wolfpack. He’s no stranger to the program, having been a positional coach previously. He’s also been involved as a coach with the Manitoba Fearless.

“I absolutely love the girls. They’re fantastic. They’re always what can I do to get better? When you have players like that, it makes me excited to coach,” he noted. 

“I want to be a good example for my kids, and a good example for my girls. My wife is the equipment manager on the Wolfpack, so it’s a family thing. She’s never been involved in football in her life, but she wants to come be with me, and be part of something that’s really important to me. I think the team sees that too. We’re invested as a family into this. I care about every single person on that field as a person.”

History in the game 

An offensive lineman, Scoran’s minor football days were spent with the Transcona Nationals, and when he was 19 he went to BC to play junior football with the Okanagan Sun, where he won at national championship in 2000 alongside the likes of fellow Manitoban Adam Eckert, who still holds the Sun’s single-game and season records for all-purpose yards. He was also drafted by the Oslo Vikings of the European Federation of American Football in 2001. 

“Me and Adam are really tight. We’re really good buddies. I made some lifelong friends from that, and the coaches there and the coaches I had with the Nationals, we had guys there that followed you the whole way through. Younger guys, fantastic coaches and it just made me love the game. That’s what I want for any team that I coach. I just want them to grow and be better people. Football doesn’t last your whole life. Being a great person will last you your whole life.”

As a positional coach, Scoran has won championships at the high school and major junior levels, and he’s also coached women in volleyball, basketball and hockey. At the suggestion of former Manitoba Fearless and current St. Vital Mustangs majors head coach Derek Mills, he got involved with the senior women’s game as well. 

“He asked me if I wanted to coach, and I love coaching. I’d never coached women at that level of football before, and so I was like sure. I’m in. The girls over there that I coached made me fall in love with coaching women, because of how much they want to learn. It’s amazing to see, especially the older women who didn’t have the opportunity to play when they were kids. Now you get to see them play. That’s fantastic.”

Scoran quickly learned the differences in learning style between the women’s and the men’s game. 

“You’ll get the guys who will go out and say I don’t care, I’ll put my head down and go. The women want to know what’s happening, they want to be invested in it,” he said. 

“I’m not a screaming coach anyway. I’ve got three daughters at home, and screaming doesn’t do any good for anybody. A lot of the guys respond to the screaming. They get fired up about it, whereas women are just like why are you screaming at me? Just tell me. The guys want to learn, but the women will go home and study their playbooks. I love that. It’s one of the biggest things I like about the women’s game is their willingness to learn.”

Community engagement 

Scoran loves the process of getting better, but he also understands that importance of giving back to the community. 

As part of the Fearless’ staff, he partnered with the Four Crowns Inn and a women’s shelter to raise money for Christmas presents, while also wrapping and collecting them. The aspect of community engagement is something that he wants to continue as head coach of the Wolfpack.

“You kind of see that there’s more to the people you’re with every day at football than just football. You want to be around those people. When I see people like that I gravitate towards them,” said Scoran. 

“One of the girls on our team, she works at Main Street Project. What do you guys need? Can we come help paint? Is there a weekend we can help serve soup or do anything that stuff? We want to really get involved in the community. If you invest in your community it invests in you. That’s what I’m hoping for with my players. If I invest in them, they’re going to invest in me as a coach.”