The first atom football game played in Yorkton took place Saturday morning at Century Field.
The newly-formed atom Gridders were the home team and the Regina Lions, who haven't been around for a long time either, were the opponents.
Darryl Haas, head coach of the Lions, said his team went winless in all of last season, but they saw that streak snapped against the Yorkton Gridder atom club.
They appeared to get off to a good start Saturday in Yorkton but a holding call brought the ball back.
Haas said it was a good learning experience.
"You know what? It's great," he said of coming to Yorkton for the first time with a bunch of 9-10 year olds. He said it's a learning experience for the players. He added that it's part of the coaches' jobs to help them develop everyone's game at the same time.
Regina won the game 15-0 and Haas said they did it with his team's focus on the defence.
"For most teams, they put all the studs on offence"
On his Lions team, he said, he puts most of the emphasis on the defence.
"It was good (today)," he added. "They played hard."
Steve Variyan, who has assumed the head coach's role with the Yorkton atoms, said the fact that they have a football team made up of 9-10 year olds is a good indication that "it's growing the program."
He said it's a pretty good time to be part of the football community.
"This keeps the excitement going. It's grassroots level."
Both coaches acknowledged Saturday that developing the game for players this young means it is going to be "an introduction to football".
The learning curve is very steep," observed Variyan.
"There is an awful lot of teaching," offered Haas, who pointed out that his Regina squad was held out of the win column all of last season.
His team showed their gratitude for Haas' work with a little water shower as time ran out in the fourth quarter.
Haas also made the point of noting that football is a lot different from other sports, namely hockey, which he said he was a part of.
"A lot (of these kids) have never played (football) before," he explained, before adding that it makes for some "fun practices".
Variyan told YTW that the 15-0 loss was obviously something that nobody wanted but noted that it was a "huge improvement from the first game" he said, referring to a 32-0 defeat they took in the opening game.
"We're taking away a lot of positives. I'm really pleased with the defence."
NEXT ACTION
The atoms third game in their existence takes place on Sept. 5 when they travel out on the road to take on the Griffins. Their next home game is Saturday, Sept. 10 against the Kats. Game time is 10 a.m., at Century Field.
