When it comes to minor sports, winning isn't nearly as important as having the right attitude.

In fact, the two usually go hand in hand, as the Yukon Grizzlies 14-and-under male rep soccer team has been proving this season.

The Grizzlies recently attended the Sherwood Park Challenge Cup in Edmonton, where they went undefeated and walked off the field with a bronze medal to show for their efforts.

'The team performed very well,' said a pleased Rick Reaume, who coaches the Grizzlies along with Randy Fraser. 'The first couple of games, the guys were a little bit tight. What we don't have here, that all of the other teams down south do is regular league competition.

'They still came through. They got better and better as the tournament went on.'

The Challenge Cup was a large tournament, hosting 15 Alberta (and Yukon) tier 2 U-14 teams. Reaume said the competition was excellent, with most games finishing by margins of one or two goals.

The tournament was set up in two pools, one with eight teams and one with seven. The first game for the Yukon squad was against the St. Albert Impact. The Grizzlies claimed the victory, 2-1, with an excellent team effort and two goals by Tony Nguyen on breakaways.

Lee Hawkings received the unsung hero award.

The second game was against Sherwood Park Rangers. The Rangers scored two quick goals in the first five minutes of the game, as the Grizzlies were slow to get organized. But the local crew was able to come from behind, and ended up with a 3-3 tie.

Nguyen scored all three of the Grizzlies goals, once again by breaking away on feeds from the midfield. Nguyen also received the unsung hero award.

Game number three of the round-robin was against a well-matched team from Lethbridge. It was a fast-paced match, with the Grizzlies coming out on top 1-0, on a goal by Harrison Ewing. Nathan Wallace received the unsung hero award and goaltender Zach Young posted the shutout.

Game four put the Grizzlies up against the South East Edmonton Storm. It was a must-win game to move on to the medal round, as only four teams of the 15 got the chance two from each pool.

It was another vigorous game, with scoring opportunities at both ends. It was a scoreless tie after the first half, and then early in the second half, the Grizzlies were awarded a penalty kick. Jeremy Nugent put the team on the scoreboard, with a perfectly placed low corner shot. It turned out to be the break the Yukoners needed to gain control of the game.

A second goal came a short time later, on a corner kick by Coty Fraser. The Grizzlies were able to hold on to the lead and shutout, with the final score 2-0. Young was once again warded the shutout.

Once the round-robin was finished, the Grizzlies ended up second overall in points. But the top team overall was in the same pool, and the way the tournament was organized, the Grizzlies ended up playing the second-place team from the other pool for bronze.

The bronze medal game put them up against the Battle River Lightning. Temperature at game time was in the high 20s and took its toll on both teams. It was a rough affair, with a few yellow cards and one red card to Battle River.

There were many opportunities at both ends with Grizzlies goals coming from Nguyen and Stephen Dynes. The Grizzlies once again held on to the 2-0 lead, collecting the bronze and another shutout for Young.

At the award ceremony, the Grizzlies were also given the sportsmanship, or fair play, award for the tournament not one yellow card was handed out to any Grizzlies' team member in the five games.

And their sportsmanship definitely played a direct role in their success as well each team started the tournament with 20 fair play points, with teams being docked points for a yellow or red card during games.

'I was really happy with the guys (for their sportsmanship),' said Reaume.

It's not the first time the Grizzlies have been recognized for their sportsmanship either. At a tournament they attended last January, the Power Play Cup in Edmonton, the Grizzlies impressed their fellow competitors so much that one of the teams actually wrote a letter about it to print in the Star.

The Athabasca Aces said it 'truly was a pleasure' to play against a team with such good sportsmanship, saying the coaches and players should be commended for not only their skill and energy, but 'the positive way they represent their community and the Yukon Soccer Association (YSA).'

'We beat it into them,' joked Reaume, when asked about his teams positive attitude. 'I think in general, here, fair play is important with all of our soccer. I just don't think bad attitudes are tolerated.'

Reaume said while his team doesn't specifically train to be good sports, the coaches do make some intentional bad calls in scrimmages, to see how the players will react and tell them if they need to change their attitude.

'These guys are just used to not talking back,' he stated. 'I'm very proud. They're a really well-behaved group.'

The Grizzlies also managed to get through the Challenge Cup without any big injuries, although a few of the players were still recovering from previous injuries, which could have hampered their play.

Lack of injuries is always a good thing for sports teams, but even more so for the Grizzlies, who are short-staffed as it is. Their biggest problem, said Reaume, is that there seems to be a lack of interest by the local youth to play on the team.

'It's not a situation where we cut anybody,' he said. 'There's 15 players on the roster and that's all their was at the beginning.

'We have club nationals in October (in Moncton, New Brunswick). We're going with 15 and just hoping we don't have any injuries before we go.'

The lack of interest may be due in part to the fact many more youngsters are playing multiple sports in recent years, leaving them little time for more than one rep team, although four of the Grizzlies are also skiers while another four are hockey players.

'It's really hard for them,' said Reaume. 'If we had any more of an intense program, we'd probably lose even more players.'

The Grizzlies are on a break for the next few weeks, after taking part in an intense clinic last week, but practice will start up again for the indoor season in September. The team will also be playing in the YSA's September soccer league, since it's required that all teams which go to nationals need to play in a league at home.

'It will be really helpful for the guys, so we can get regular game play,' said Reaume.

Two female rep squads from the territory will also be attending nationals in the fall the U-14 Blazers and U-16 Icebreakers as well as the Yukon Selects men's crew.