The U18 South East Kinette Club Viragos are kicking off their season early with a focus on boosting participation in female football.
Head coach Matthew McGillivray said he was pleased with the turnout at the team’s first training session of the year.
“We had nine girls, five of which were new to football, so that was great to see,” McGillivray said. “We are very happy with the turnout and the effort put forward by the new players.”
To encourage more girls to try the sport, Estevan Minor Football has been visiting local elementary schools, with their last stop being Pleasantdale today.
“A couple of coaches and some of the girls currently on the roster have been going around to help with recruiting, and it seems to work well,” McGillvary said. “Hopefully, we can convince more girls to come try it out in the future.”
During practices, players focus on essential skills such as ladder drills, footwork, and ball handling.
“Recently, we’ve been focusing on catching, so we’ve been doing a lot of drills for that,” McGillivray said. “That’s probably what we’ll concentrate on for the next few weeks.”
The team hopes to expand its roster, strengthening the lineup and providing key benefits during games.
“It’s important to fill the roster because it helps to give players a break,” McGillivray said. “If you have a low roster in football, people have to play both ways, which means they don’t get as many breaks. This can also help limit injuries.”
Some players missed this week’s training session as they attended a football camp in Saskatoon hosted by the Saskatoon Valkyries.
“We had two of our existing players as well as three new players participate in the camp to try football,” McGillivray said.
The coach added that attending camps is a valuable experience for the team.
“We really like the idea of attending camps. It gives exposure to different coaches and players,” McGillivray said. “You’ll also see players from other teams in our league. It’s usually a good bonding experience to meet the girls you’re going to play against in the fall.”
McGillvary reminded Grade 8-12 girls that Sunday night workouts are held at 6 p.m. at Spruce Ridge School and are free to attend.
The Viragos are also organizing a camp through Estevan Minor Football, set to take place at the Spark Centre in Weyburn on Feb. 15.