Colt Belisle (left) attempts to shake off a tackle from Tucker Worth during a peewee football practice on Wednesday at the Methanex Bowl. -- NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Forty-four future football stars have been hitting the gridiron at the Methanex Bowl this week.
Medicine Hat Tackle Football Association has put together a 50-person cohort featuring six coaches that oversee the remaining players in an ongoing series of practices and 9-man jamboree-style scrimmages, and eventually games.
It may not be a normal season, but Holden Skyhar isn’t arguing.
“It’s definitely better than playing video games all day,” said Skyhar, who plays at wide receiver and lineman. “It feels good to be out to exercise and be with friends again.”
Quarterback Seth Armstrong agrees, being out on the field with friends is a very welcome change of pace from the early days of COVID.
“It’s quite nice. I was very bored and didn’t have much stuff to do, so I’m glad that I’m able to go outside and exercise,” said Armstrong. “I’m glad that we are able to tackle, because not tackling is quite annoying.”
Scrimmages kicked off Tuesday evening, with a pair of 7-7 ties between the Cougars and Riders, and the Ticats and Raiders. Teams are matched up on game day to ensure a high level of competition, though quarterback Lyric Papineau admits it took a few snaps to shake off the rust.
“It took us a little bit to get into it at the start but we all figured it out at the end,” said Papineau, adding the cohort is like a family. “We all support each other, we don’t have any negative comments to each other, we just try and teach each other to get better.”
Coach George Best says 9-man football allows the cohort to split into four teams while maximizing time on the field for each player.
“It means they’re all more involved, they all get more time,” said Best. “It worked out really well that way.”
Best added MHTFA worked extensively to create a set of guidelines and ensure a safe atmosphere for players. Hand sanitization stations have been set up at the field, while referees at games must wear masks and cannot touch the ball.
“We’ve put in a lot of guidelines and we’ve put in a lot of hours,” said Best. “We had some meetings in the off-season to figure everything out and get everything going. We put it all together and followed Football Alberta and it seems to be working.”
Jamboree scrimmages continue Tuesday at 6 p.m. Best says this week’s scrimmages were well-attended, and he’s expecting an even bigger crowd when full 9-man Saturday games kick off on Sept. 26 at the Methanex Bowl at 1:30 p.m.
“It’s a big-ticket event,” said Best.
