The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs football team had a long look at the future of the program during their annual spring camp.
Practices were held from June 4-7, and a scrimmage happened June 10. All activities were held at the practice field south of the school.
“We’ve been really impressed with the turnout. We have more than 40 players that have the equipment and have attended at least a portion of the camp, so that’s really encouraging for next year,” said head coach Mark Schott.
The players have been very coachable and eager to learn.
“There are a lot of young players, and that’s exciting, because those young players are the future of our program,” said Schott.
A large number of young players should be expected, thanks to rule changes from Football Canada which require high school-aged football players to play at that level. They no longer have bantam football as an option.
The Elecs also had returning players on the field, even though many had scheduling conflicts with the provincial track and field championships and other events. It allowed veteran players to mix in with the potential rookies.
“Our veteran players are really emerging as some excellent leaders, and have been quite welcoming of our new players,” said Schott.
Graduating player Kolby Janssen has been helping out with coaching and guiding defensive drills.
The practices allowed players to work on fundamentals of their positions and build on their skills.
“It’s also important that our players get a sense of what it’s like to tackle and to be tackled, and so that’s been an emphasis for us,” said Schott.
They also taught the players some basic offensive and defensive plays so they could run those plays in the scrimmage.
The coaches will encourage players to attend a football camp that is available during the summer months. Some have attended camps south of the border in the past, while others have gone to camps elsewhere in Saskatchewan.
They also encouraged players to continue with the training during the summer months, so that they’re ready for the start of high school football season in September.
If players want to play high school football but were unable to attend the camp, then Schott said it’s not too late for them to register to play in the fall.
