Estevan Minor Football is looking to complete some long-awaited projects, after their fundraising dinner at the Estevan Curling Rink on Saturday night.
The local football organization has a list of more than $40,000 worth of things they still need to do. Perhaps most important is adding showers to the game day locker rooms and adding lights and parking to the practice field.
Steve McLellan, EMF president, noted how the fundraiser was in conjunction with the Estevan Comprehensive School's football program, which also has about $50,000 of upgrades they are looking to add.
The high school still needs to complete the locker rooms, with plumbing, and needs fencing around their practice field. The total amount raised from the evening was not calculated before press time.
The co-operation between the high school and minor football programs is important for players developing all the way until post-secondary, said McLellan.
"I think it allows for there to be a more common goal."
For a program that is still very young, success is coming early for some of the athletes who have now come through playing both EMF and ECS ball. Michael Bittman and Zack Rensby both had tryouts for the University of Regina Rams team on the weekend. Rensby, a defensive lineman, was asked to join the program after his tryout.
ECS Elecs head coach Marco Ricci said that Rensby's 小蓝视频 the first player out of the local system to be part of a CIS program is "huge."
McLellan said having a player go to the Rams is an "incredible" step for the program here.
"That's really exciting to see that there is that opportunity there (for these players), and that there is some recognition for the work that's been done, primarily at the high school level. Throughout the whole organization of football here, to now have a kid in CIS football, that's phenomenal."
Bittman didn't make the team after his tryout, but Ricci said they are very interested in how he develops further.
"They gave him some advice to play some junior football," said Ricci, noting the Regina Thunder have shown interest in him and he will try out for them later.
He added that because Bittman was trying out as a linebacker, he was up against players who were 21 and 22-years-old.
McLellan noted how tying the minor and high school football together will help in the players' development.
"This year we are looking at building amore concise unit, all the way from atom to the high school levels, just to get on a more (consistent) level of systems. Then every kid can grow and be successful without having to learn a whole bunch of new terminology as they move up."
EMF and the high school programs have worked together in an administrative way for a couple years in an effort to keep the programs in sync with each other.
As far as the support the community showed EMF on Saturday evening, McLellan said it was great.
"We were flabbergasted," he said. "We really managed to be very successful, raising a lot of funds for both the high school and EMF. It exceeded everyone's expectations."
They work together with the fundraiser and other events because success for one group means success for the other.
McLellan said they are introducing flag football this spring, and it will run in May and June.
"It will allow us to develop, especially the younger aged kids in football."
They are also planning a spring camp at some time in the spring.
