The Estevan peewee Warriors lacrosse team got their first glance of competitive play this year in Swift Current’s pre-season tournament on April 18 and 19.
Estevan started the tournament against Swift Current on April 18 and dropped a 3-2 decision. Ben Wagstaff and Tanner Hall were the goal scorers for the Warriors.
In their next game against Medicine Hat, Tanner Hall and Wagstaff scored the Estevan goals in an 11-2 defeat.
On the last day, in the final game of the tournament, Estevan fell to Moose Jaw 7-1. Hall had the lone goal for Estevan.
In Estevan’s peewee division there are 30 youth, but only fifteen participated in the tournament. There will be two teams before the start of their next tournament.
Despite the losses, coach Darcy Hall said it was a good learning experience for the team, since some of them are new to the sport, and they have only had four practices leading up to the tournament.
“For an early start (to the season) it was a good learner for the first 15 kids to get out and get to learn the sport,” he said.
The team doesn’t play a home game until a tournament in Estevan on May 23 and 24, so Hall said they will continue to practice learning to play the game.
One aspect the players have to get used to is playing with contact, since the peewee level is when they are introduced to it.
Hall also mentioned during their practices they will focus on getting the players into game action and game scenarios by setting plays up.
Since there are players on the team new to the sport, and the team only plays for a couple of months, there is a lot to take in, but Hall believes his team can improve every time they play.
“We’re still learning day-to-day and tournament-to-tournament. It’s one of those sports that is kind of on the outskirts, but once you get kids in it, they’re hooked on it,” he said.
Along with the upcoming tournament in Estevan, Hall said they are planning to play in tournaments in Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
