For any new or returning minor football players in the Ponoka area, an important camp is starting on Monday.
Todd Lewis, the President of the Ponoka and Area Minor Football Association, talks about their Fall Camp.
"Our fall camp is essentially 2 weeks of football practices where we take a whole bunch of kids, some of which are returning football players, some of which are brand spanking new, and we go over the basics of football. So how to catch a football, how to tackle, how to block, and how to do everything safely. We even go through putting on your gear, offense, defense and special teams. We cover all the basics."
Lewis says these camps are for kids in the Pee Wee and Bantam Broncs Pee wees. Any kids that are in grades 5, 6, and 7 for Pee Wee and for Bantam grades 8 and 9.
As far as equipment goes, Lewis says it's all provided.
"We provide every piece of equipment for every single kid. So that's helmets, shoulder pads, even the cleats. We're really lucky that we have a lot of a lot of great supporters and sponsors and we're able to supply every stitch of equipment."
After the training camps are done the regular season starts. The Broncs will have home games on September 21st vs Strathmore, September 28th vs Olds, and October 5th vs Stettler.
Also coming up on August 24th will be a bottle/food drive done by the Broncs players. The players will practice that morning and then head out to different neighborhoods in Ponoka to collect bottles and also food items for the Ponoka food bank. Lewis says it's an important drive for getting money for the players but also showing respect in giving back to the community.
If you would like more information on the camps or playing football check out the Ponoka Area Minor Football Association Facebook page.