The weather outside may still feel like winter, but Prince Albert Minor Football is looking ahead to the spring season.
PA Minor Football is running four spring programs with Indoor Flag, Little Tykes and 6-A-Side at both the Peewee and Bantam levels.
Taras Kachkowski, the president of PA Minor Football, says spring programming allows more athletes to try the sport of football.
“It’s another opportunity to teach a great game to the next generation of players and I think our coaches look forward to that opportunity. We start off with a program that we do in conjunction with our local high schools for Grade 9 to 11 players. It’s a nice way in the off season to get kind of back into football mode for veteran players, and then also for players that are still new to the game, it’s a way to introduce them to the game and get them ready for the fall.”
All of the spring programs are designed to help young athletes become familiar with the sport of football. Kachkowski says the fundamentals are an important building block.
“Football definitely is a complex game and Football Canada has recommended (teams) break it down through the ages kind of thing. At younger ages, it really focuses on individual skill building needed to play the game, basically throwing the ball, catching and running with it and then you introduce defensive pursuit and that kind of stuff. Those kinds of concepts are introduced at our Little Tykes program which is for Grades 1 to 4 in two different age groups.”
Prince Albert has seen some success on the gridiron in recent months. The Carlton Crusaders captured their first ever provincial title with a dramatic win over BJM in Saskatoon late last fall. Kachkowski says minor football has had a ripple effect on the high school programs in the city over the years.
“Success breeds success and definitely minor football has had a positive effect in bringing up the level of skill in our high school programs. Before PA Minor Football, most kids only played football for four years in high school, now you have kids coming into Grade 9 with eight years of football playing experience behind them. Producing professional players isn’t what our program is about. The reality of the manner whether it’s football or hockey, the minor sports experience in general, it’s about getting those kids moving, it’s about the life lessons that you learn playing in sport. It’s learning the value of self-discipline, being a good teammate, goal setting, working hard to achieve a goal. I think the life lessons that you learn playing football are the most important thing rather than necessarily the accomplishments.”
More information on spring football programs is available at pariverrivers.com
sports@paherald.sk.ca
