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Safe contact paramount in Moose Jaw Minor Football League

The Estevan Century 21 peewee Chargers recent game with the Weyburn Ravens proved that sometimes things can get out of hand in a rough sport like football, but it is believed by the Moose Jaw Minor Football League (MJMFL) that measures are in place t
chargers peewee football 2015

The Estevan Century 21 peewee Chargers recent game with the Weyburn Ravens proved that sometimes things can get out of hand in a rough sport like football, but it is believed by the Moose Jaw Minor Football League (MJMFL) that measures are in place to make sure the safety of its players is paramount.

Owen Morhart, president of the MJMFL, confirmed the Chargers left Darold Kot Field with 3:50 left to play in the fourth quarter against the Ravens on Oct. 8. He said Chargers head coach Jason Bresciani told him the reason they pulled their players off the field was because he felt they were in danger and that is his right. 

Morhart said he could not see any dirty play by the Ravens when reviewing parts of the game film and judging from Weyburn’s previous games in Moose Jaw he knows they are a hard-hitting and respectful team that is well coached. He said all of the coaches in the MJMFL take a Head’s Up program prior to the season that instructs them on how to teach tackling properly and safely to ensure there is no dangerous contact such as hitting from behind or spearing and noted in his 30 years in minor football the times a kid gets carried away on the field has been minimal.

The MJMFL has four divisions under its umbrella including a learn-to-play league for six and seven year olds, an atom division that helps eight and nine years olds acquire a footing in the game, the peewee ranks for 10 to 12 year olds and the bantam league where 13 and 14 year olds meet on the gridiron. The learn-to-play league features light contact, the atom division has full-contact controlled scrimmages and the peewee and bantam leagues employ regular full-contact games.

Morhart said the idea of eliminating hitting for kids in peewee-and-under football, which has been in effect in hockey across Canada since 2013, has been brought up, but the consensus has always been to stick with contact for player enjoyment and teaching. He said there has been a move by a majority of their bantam coaches to limit full contact in practices as a way to reduce injuries like many university teams such as the University of Calgary Dinos do now and their Head’s Up program also relays that message.

“They have more controlled drills now for contact and quick whistles so the kids don’t get hurt,” said Morhart. “Our equipment has advanced so much too (and) that sure helps cut back on the injuries.”

The idea of creating separate divisions based on skill within the age categories such as A and B peewee leagues has been tried in Regina, noted Morhart, but in a small organization like the MJMFL that isn’t really possible. He said that would limit the amount of teams in each skill level meaning the travel and cost would increase with some teams such as the Chargers not being able to properly field a team in one division due to lower numbers.

Morhart said the hard-hitting play in the Chargers and Ravens game is unusual for its controversy, but they are confident the refereeing that is in place can and will catch and stop any possible dirty conduct. He said the hope is any misgivings between Weyburn, Estevan or the referees are now forgiven and forgotten and the game of football can again become the focus.

“I know what was said and I’ve seen what happened and I don’t agree with all of it, but referees do miss calls and coaches do get excited if they think that a call is bad when it’s not,” he said. “We’re human. That’s why there is replay in the professional leagues, but it’ll all work out in the end and hopefully we can move forward and make everybody stronger.”