The Sarnia Imperials football club announced on Tuesday that Rod Weed would be the teams new Head Coach. Weed was born and raised in Lambton County and played for SCITS. He was recruited by Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan, but elected to pursue Division 1 Pro Hockey in Scotland. Weed brings a wealth of football knowledge with him as he assisted at SCITS and LCCVI as well as the SMAA program. Week has also worked with the College Football prospects of America, a scouting program for the NCAA.

 “[I] wants to be here for a few years and see the club grow,” Weed said, also adding that a goal was to bring in more players into the program.

The Imperials are in the process of completing an affiliation agreement with the New Port Huron Predators Professional Indoor Football team who play in the Continental Indoor Football League.

Weed plans on establishing a connection at the professional level to draw players and open doors for them. The Indoor season runs from February to April. With this connection it will create more interest in football for Sarnia.

When asked what their target number of wins for the season, Weed said all eight. Weed admitted that he hasn’t lost much. As a coach of multi sports he’s happy when a team progresses over previous games and late in the season and he then gets excited for a new season as he expects the team to get better and better.

Also joining Weed on the bench is Bill Simpson, offence coordinator and Jake Cherski as Defensive coordinator. Esron Mills will take on Training, Strength and Conditioning for Defensive backs and special teams. Jim Hext, strength and conditioning.

 The team will be working out throughout the winter, anyone interested in joining the team should contact  Jake Cherski. jcherski@sarniaimperials.com