There’s been a hike in the number of players hitting the field, as local football clubs gear up for another season.
The Bonnyville Bantam Bandits have seen the highest spike in registration for the spring season.
“We have over 50 kids registered for the spring season alone, which is over the top,” expressed head coach Mickey Fagnan. “That means there’s a tremendous uptick in the number of kids wanting to play at our level.”
In previous years, the team has had about 30 players take to the field this early on, so to have 20 additional players means they have an even bigger pool to pull from.
Fagnan attributes their recruiting success to the team’s coaching staff.
“We have seven coaches who are extremely motivated. We really try to inform parents that we’re not only here to play football, we have a much bigger target in mind. We want to make these young kids champions for life,” he said.
For head coach of the Bonnyville Voyageurs Larry Godziuk, their spring players will all make the cut.
“It’s been pretty strong. We have 41 kids right now, and that’s up,” he explained, adding they’re expecting to have a few more come their way later on in the season.
“We still have a few who are away for a previous spring commitment, so we expect to be around 45 or 46.”
According to Godziuk, their team won’t turn anyone away.
“As long as they’re willing to come to practice and work hard, we will keep whoever shows up.”
This year, the Voyaguers have 29 returning players, making them a veteran-strong team.
“It’s going to be one of the most senior teams we put on the field in a long time,” Godziuk said. “For the last several years, we have had quite the mix of Grade 10s in starting positions. That doesn’t help when you’re playing teams who field almost exclusively Grade 12 players.”
Having senior players will “help us on the field. They’re more physically mature... Having those older kids and bigger bodies is just going to help us out.”
The Bonnyville Renegades are seeing a consistent number of players interested in their league.
So far, they have 35 strapping on helmets in their spring camp, but head coach Josh Jubinville would like to see more.
“We’re hoping for 40 to 45 players in total,” he expressed.
This season, they’re keeping their eye on the prize, and putting their efforts on improving on last year’s success.
“Like always, we’re just trying to make it to the finals, but hopefully go to provincials,” Jubinville detailed.
As the players make their way through the Renegade’s spring camp, they will be learning the ins and outs of the sport.
Jubinville explained, “Spring camp is focusing on all of the fundamentals of the players like catching and running, offensive line footwork, and defensive line footwork.”
While the Renegades have the most number of females on the field with six, the bantam team has welcomed two female football enthusiasts in their league. One female athlete has shown interest in becoming a member of the Voyaguers.
May 26 will be the Voyageurs spring jamboree, where they will welcome teams from across the province to Walsh Field for a day of football action.
The Bandits will also be hosting a spring event, but on June 2.
This year, they’re taking a bit of a different approach.
Instead of the usual back-to-back games, the team will be hosting a Canadian Ninja Challenge, where players will be facing off on multiple different challenges in order to see who comes out on top.
“That has peaked a lot of interest. We’re really trying to generate a real community spirit, not only amongst our own teams, but the teams that come here,” Fagnan said, adding like always, the Bandits are keeping true to their mission statement, he added.
“Overall, our goal and mission statement is ‘Be phenomenal or be forgotten.’ We aim for our kids to be phenomenal everywhere they go.”
