Lucas Punkari
After a three-year absence, youth football is in the process of returning here.
The man in charge of putting together the team is Ken Matthews, a former Muskie player and currently a defensive coach with the program.
“Currently, we are getting a nice core of kids who are in Grade 8 that are hard-core football fans that go out and play on the weekend, and they were pressuring us parents to revitalize the program,” he explained.
“They are all looking forward to playing in high school,” Matthews added.
“But they also realize that as a Grade 9 [player], they will be on the bench and they want to get those chops in right now.”
That enthusiasm was on display during the Muskies’ annual spring mini-camp here last week, with around 20 kids from Grades 6-8 coming out to learn about the sport.
“With the numbers that we’ve had so far, things are looking very good,” enthused Matthews, who said players came from Emo to Mine Centre during the camp.
“We’re hoping to double those numbers here in the next few weeks, and that will help us out a lot in how much equipment that we need to order,” he noted.
With Matthews hoping to joining forces with the Muskie Touchdown Club to help with fundraising, he currently is spending a lot of his time working out plans to set up the team’s schedule.
“We will be having registration here shortly, and in August we will start up our practices with two every week,” he said.
“We’re also recruiting coaches right now, and we would also like to get some of the high school kids to help us out as it is a great chance for them to get their volunteer hours [needed to graduate],” he added.
Helping the youth program get off the ground here will be one in Dryden, which has been in existence for about a year and also has a connection to Fort High.
“They have a former Muskie alumni up there in Neil McLeod, who coaches the high school team, and he has noticed that their youth program has helped them out a lot,” Matthews said.
“We’re hoping to have a couple of scrimmages with them this fall, which will be great for the guys, and eventually we might also have some matches with the youth team over in International Falls,” he noted.
Matthews said feedback about the resumption of the youth football program here has been very positive so far, especially with those involved with the Muskies.
“Coach [Chad] Canfield and the rest of the staff are excited to see it starting up again,” he remarked.
“They are seeing the benefits right now of the youth program when it was here three years ago as those players are making a real positive impact for the Muskies now.”
Anyone with questions about the youth team can contact Matthews at 275-9957 or via e-mail at kenmatthews14@yahoo.ca
