The first day of the new soccer season began on Thursday with 79 youngsters registered, the largest group in the club’s history, said Tricia Bedore, the club president.
Everything was slow to start on Thursday because it was necessary to make sure that every student was registered and each one received a jersey or T-shirt to identify him or her with a specific team and age group, she said.
The 79 players are divided into three age groups and two teams per age group, said Barry Hvidston, who was in charge of registrations. There are 28 Mini Mites for ages three and four. There are 25 in the Mini group for ages five to seven. There are 26 in the Major group which has players from eight years and up.
There has been interest expressed by other parents so there may be a few more players registering in the next week or two, he said.
The club is very grateful to the parents who have stepped forward to coach the youngest players and to the high school students who will be coaching the older players, said Bedore. When the T-shirts and jerseys were being handed out on Thursday, the club made sure that the coaches received special jerseys so that parents can quickly recognize them.
The plan is to play each Thursday, starting at 6:30 p.m. The club uses the soccer pitch which is located just south of the Canora Composite School grounds. The one exception to the regular schedule will be in the second week in June when soccer will be played on Tuesday because the Canora Composite School Awards Program is on Thursday and most of the coaches are CCS students, said Bedore.
The season goes by quickly but there will be some special events, she said. On June 18, there will be a Fathers’ Day game to which fathers, grandfathers and uncles are invited. There will be a barbecue afterwards. The season will conclude on June 23 at the splash park. It was a great success last year when the fire department brought a fire truck and wet down the players so it is hoped that everyone will have as much fun this year.
The Canora Soccer Club executive is working with the Saskatchewan Soccer Association and will be receiving some support during the season, said Bedore. Working with the Association, the Canora Club may be able to organize a game or two with other soccer clubs from the area.
