Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football is already preparing to say goodbye to one of its three divisions this year, and it is also facing low numbers in the other two.
It is all but certain that there will be no bantam Steelers team this fall, as there were only eight players registered in the division as of Monday.
Minor football also needs a few more players in order to field teams in the atom and peewee divisions. There were 23 kids signed up in atom and 24 in peewee as of Monday.
"We do like to have 30 kids on each team, just so we have spares. That's kind of a minimum that Regina Minor Football likes us to have," said incoming president Kevin Mortenson, who is taking over from Steve McLellan. McLellan is being transferred to Alberta by his employer.
EMF must report their numbers to Regina Minor Football by the end of this month, which is next Monday, so that RMF can begin putting its schedules together.
"We were supposed to let them know in May, but we told them it's going to be a last-minute pitch," said Mortenson. "A lot of them do wait till the last minute to get registered. It's a situation that can't be ignored, with RMF wanting to make the schedules."
As for the bantam team, Mortenson said, "All the kids got talked into going to play high school. We've had problems with this age group that's supposed to be playing bantam right now. We've had low numbers. Two years ago when they were 11 and 12, we had to take some of the players from the atom minor team and move them up so they'd have enough to field a team. We're probably going to have to mothball the Steelers team this year. We're just going to have to keep building."
Mortenson said he is excited about the other two teams, particularly with the peewee Chargers coming back after not fielding a team last year.
"Some of the kids, we hear through the grapevine, they tell their friends at school, 'You gotta come play football, it's awesome, you get to hit people.'"
The coaches for the two teams have been decided on. Wanda Harron will return to coach the atom Miners for a second year, while Paul Duncan will be the head coach of the Century 21 Chargers.
Mortenson said EMF's coaches have taken courses and are able to recognize concussions, and added he believes football is no more dangerous than some other sports in terms of head injuries.
"I thought with the Riders winning the Grey Cup last year that there'd be a lot of football interest in town again, and there still is, but a lot of people get the misconception that football is dangerous. Then there's the concussion awareness and football's kinda been the poster boy. Yes, you are prone to concussions, but it's no different from hockey. You can take a fly ball off the head playing baseball and get a concussion.
"We know what the symptoms are if somebody does have a concussion. We're aware of it, and it's a very serious problem."
Meanwhile, the departure of McLellan is a significant loss for minor football, as they lose a hard worker, Mortenson said.
"We wish him the best. It kinda sucks he's leaving because we built such a good friendship with him, and he has done an awful lot for us. He has never complained about it. He just loves being here."
Anyone interested in registering for minor football can find registration forms at estevanminorfootball.com or contact Mortenson at 306-421-3377.
He said that "23 and 24 (players) just isn't manageable. I know there's going to be some more coming in. If these kids want to join, here's their opportunity. They're going to be getting a lot of playing time."
There are three to four practices a week, along with one game on the weekend.
Meanwhile, beginning on July 7, EMF will offer players a chance to go to Chow Field on Monday nights and practice parts of their game. Mortenson said it will be an unstructured environment where the kids can play or work on specific things. The sessions will go from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and no equipment is necessary.
"If someone wants to work on punting or passing, someone will be there to give them a hand."
