The Bonnyville peewee Renegades are rushing back into football season with the kick-off of their spring league. Forty-one players hit the field earlier this month, as they fine-tune their skills in preparation for the fall.
The Bonnyville peewee Renegades are rushing back into football season with the kick-off of their spring league.
Forty-one players hit the field earlier this month, as they fine-tune their skills in preparation for the fall.
Head coach for the Renegades Josh Jubinville said his goal this year is to focus on having fun and teaching the players to respect each other and the community.
The team is made up of kids aged nine to 12, with a blend of new and returning players.
"It's really good because when you have returning players you can put them into key holes and they can also mentor the new kids that show up and help teach them on the field while they're playing," said Jubinville.
On Sunday, May 28, the team will be heading to a jamboree in Wainwright, where they play a modified game of football. Each team has 30 chances at defence and 30 chances at offence, and coaches are on the field directing their players.
"It gets the kids into the aspect and the feeling of the game before the fall," noted Jubinville. "The jamboree shows us where the weaknesses of the team will be and what we're going to have to work on in the fall. It helps us determine what kind of playbook we're going to run as well."
So far, they have focused on light defence, basic skills, blocking, tackling and the fundamentals of the sport. Next, they will start working on catching, covering, and other aspects of defence.
"All of our coaches put 110 per cent in, and we expect the same from the kids in order to achieve what we did last year," Jubinville said.
The Renegades had a successful 2016-17 season, breaking the record for the most passing yards in a peewee season in the history of Alberta with over 4,000 rushing yards and 2,000 receiving yards.
They also ended the season undefeated, and won the title of provincial champions.
"I'm almost positive that if the kids have the heart to do it, we will do it this year too," expressed Jubinville.
Their biggest competitors will be the Lloydminster team, who has shown time and time again that they are the team to beat.
"They've always been that way... Lloydminster was a dominant team before we showed up, and now we're probably the most gunned for team in everyone else's eyes."
