The Saskatchewan Selects Football Club will be hosting a skills development camp for players and coaches in Weyburn on May 16th from 5 to 9 p.m. on the Weyburn Minor Football Field.
According to Matt Sheridan, former CFL defensive lineman with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who is in charge of Community Outreach for Sask Selects, "this is not your typical football camp."
"We're doing player and coaching skill development that's been tailored to the needs and the desires of the local football programs. We've spoken with Ryan Maloney, the president of Weyburn Minor football, as well as with Rob Umbach, who is a longtime coach with us at select football, about some of the things that they think would benefit the football community in Weyburn."
During the hour the kids are signing in for the camp, they'll be doing a coaching presentation to increase the knowledge and the skill-base for the local coaches in the Weyburn area.
"It's about skills development for players and for coaches, and I think that's one of the unique elements," Sheridan noted. "Typically coaching skill development happens at a conventional coaching clinic. We want to try to incorporate as much as we can."
"Because we have the quality and calibre of coaches we do with the Selects program, we want to try and bring ultimate benefit and value to the communities we're holding these camps in, and offer some instruction for coaches who are volunteers, who are dads, who maybe don't have any football experience or have minimal football experience. We want to make sure that we can get the coaches coached up because better coaches make better players."
As is typical with a football camp, no equipment is required.
"We'll be doing all of the usual stuff that you would do on the football field, just without shoulder pads and helmets. And the reality is that's not a huge impediment. Just being able to get some good work and some good instruction."
He said just like in a football practice, the camp will start with the basics, with a progression into more complex skills and abilities that take into account the things done previously.
"Football practices and camps typically start off the same regardless of the level you're at. Whether you're playing Peewee, Bantam, High School, University, or CFL camps, they always start off with some kind of fundamental skill work," he explained. "The game of football boils down to a couple of different things. It's throwing, catching, running, tackling, and blocking. Those are the things that every practice starts off with in Selects. Those are the things that start off every practice, generally, in Bantam football. Those are the things we started off with every practice when I played in the CFL. That's how camps go and it shouldn't matter what level of competency or competition you're accustomed to, from a new beginner to a grizzly old vet. That's how you stay sharp and you stay productive on the field is by working on those fundamentals."
Sheridan said all ages of young players are welcome to attend, "from eight or nine years old all the way up to players who are graduating from high school and potentially even beyond."
"We have an amazing roster of coaches with the Selects program that encompass a wide range of previous playing and skill levels, as coaches as well, all the way up to and including CFL coaches. So even if you are a player who has graduated and is perhaps contemplating trying out for a university or a junior football team, we'd love to have you come by and maybe try and pick up a couple of things, if you think it's worthwhile."
That said, the camp is not just for people who have previous experience with the game.
"We're counting on getting some kids and some coaches who this is their first experience or first exposure to the game and we relish the opportunity to work with kids and coaches like that because it gives us a chance to teach them how to do things right and to introduce them to the game in an environment that's accommodating and accepting, and we're going to teach you how to do things the correct way and avoid the pitfalls of developing bad habits and making sure that you're enjoying it and you're seeing your success."
"It can be intimidating. Football takes a tremendous amount of courage and commitment to do it right, and we want to make sure that, especially newcomers, feel welcome and that they are in a positive environment where they can learn things and feel comfortable and confident and then grow their skills and and the confidence that comes along with that."
The timing and structure of these camps enables skills and drills to set kids and coaches up to hone their skills over the summer.
"So that they learn it comprehensively, so when they go back to their teams and their programs, they're able to do it," he said. "We know that summer vacation can be tough to get kids to engage and to attend. So we want to try and get it out of the way in the spring. A lot of teams and programs are having spring camps in around the May, June area. So we thought this would be a great time to do these camps, to kick off the early spring football season and get everybody started off on the right foot."
There is no limit on attendance. After all, they have a whole football field of space for the event.
The Weyburn camp is $75 per player, and $40 for coaches.
"That fee for the coaches will be waived if you bring four players to attend the camp," he noted.
There will also be a camp in Estevan on the 17th, and anyone interested in attending both camps in Weyburn and in Estevan can do so for $125 per player and $60 per coach. The coach's fee will also be waived if the coach brings four players to the camp.
Registration is a few clicks away on their website HERE.
Ideally, players register in advance, but Sheridan said they welcome last-minute participants as well.
"Sask Selects football has been operating for 14 years now. We're no strangers to this. This is not our first rodeo. We know that there's going to be some last minute decisions being made and even if the morning of you decide and you want to show up and register, we won't turn you away. We want everybody to come and and feel welcome and participate. So if you decide 20 minutes before the start of the camp half hour before the start of camp and you want to come down, by all means, come on down to the field and we'll do our best to make sure we get you all set and can participate."
Interested coaches are asked to e-mail Sheridan personally at msheridan@selectfootball.com to let him know if you'll be attending, and whether you'll be bringing enough players to qualify for the coaches discount.