The Innisfail Cyclones Pee Wee Football Team are hoping for big things on the field this season, and that starts with their “home” opener next month.
The Cyclones’ Central Alberta Pee Wee Football League game against the Strathmore Spartans will be held at McMahon Stadium, home of the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders, on Sept. 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Peewee head coach Wally Genz said the game was made possible thanks to the support of Innisfail’s Royal LePage office, one of the team’s sponsors.
The team is coming off an incredibly successful season. Last year the Cyclones opened with five straight wins before losing to the Lacombe Explosion. Both teams finished the regular season with identical records, but the Cyclones were seeded second heading into the playoffs. They were eliminated in the first round after losing to the eventual provincial champions.
The nine-team league features the Lacombe Explosion, the Olds Huskies, the Red Deer Hornets, the Red Deer Steelers, the Stettler Panthers, the Strathmore Spartans, the Sylvan Lake Bears, the Wetaskiwin Wildcats, and the Cyclones.
Genz said the team only lost four players from last year’s squad after they moved up to the bantam level. The Cyclones’ success on the field has also led to a dramatic increase in the number of players who came out for spring training this year.
“We’ve got 39 registered players right now (and) we’ve got room for one more,” Genz said proudly. “After that we don’t have enough jerseys.”
At the pee wee level, players play at least one third of each game. With the convert kick being worth two points in pee wee football as opposed to the usual one, Genz said the team will spend extra time working on the special teams aspect of the game.
“It also helps out as far as making sure the kids are getting all they need to be able to move all the way through just in case they choose to continue on with football,” he said. “That way they know the fundamentals of kicking, they know the fundamentals of long-snapping and everything else.”
Genz said cross-sport conflicts will be all but eliminated this year. The executive of the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association has agreed to work with the team in order to adjust ice times and tryouts so they do not conflict with the Cyclones’ practices and games.
“At the same token we will limit the intensity level for players that are trying out for hockey teams. In that way they’re not too tired when they start skating.,” Genz explained. “But on days when they don’t have practices of course we’ll turn it up.”
Last week the Cyclones took part in a three-day summer skill and drill camp to prepare for the upcoming season. The camp provided new players with an introduction to the basics of football and the equipment while also giving veteran players an opportunity to try out new positions, Genz said.
“It’s more of ensuring that if they decide to go play pee wee or go play bantam, whether it’s here or anywhere, then that way they have more tools in the toolbox,” he explained. “It just gives the player more opportunity.”
The bantam Cyclones team will also be resurrected next season after folding midway through the 2010 season due to a variety of factors. With a new head coach, James Thompson, and 23 players from this year’s team moving to the bantam ranks next year, the future looks bright for the team, Genz said.
