https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em3_xCREc9Y
CANMORE – A new flag football league in Canmore emphasizing skillset over tackles for junior players is introducing the sport in a safe and fun atmosphere.
Over 50 grade schoolers threw around the pigskin during opening day of the inaugural Wolverines flag football league on Sunday (May 26), which runs every Sunday at Canmore Collegiate High School’s field until the league finals on June 16.
With the help of Canmore Wolverines football players and a CFL Hall of Famer’s pep talk, organizers Gord Elser and Dave Rodney kicked off the league that teaches game’s basics in a competitive, cooperative and safe environment.
“Whether or not they play for the Wolverines or [Calgary] Stampeders, they’re learning some incredible new skills that they can use in life,” said Rodney. “That’s why we’re doing this, we’re offering them a safe way to gain some experience and expertise that they can utilize in sport, community and beyond.”
Before the mini-camp started Sunday morning, the athletes received a motivational speech by Jon Cornish, Canadian Football hall of famer and CFL legend, who touched on areas such as life preparation and concussions.
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Growing up in Vancouver, flag football was Cornish’s favourite sport and as a Grade 9 student, he had the opportunity to play against adults.
“For me, that really raised my skill level having to compete against them and just the speed of the game,” Cornish said to the Outlook. “I like the sport element of football – the contact element I think is part of the deal, but with flag football I think you can eliminate that and I think it’s sort of what people want to see these days … Flag football still gets them going and keeps them going.”
The former running back, a two-time Grey Cup champ and the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian Player for three straight seasons from 2012-14, spoke from personal experience with concussions in football and why having “body awareness” at a young age is important.
“I felt a lot of people don’t know how to fall, they don’t know how to protect themselves … I like to emphasize body awareness, like doing things like yoga,” Cornish said. “Once you have that, you can really insolate yourself from being put into positions where you can receive bad hits.”
Eight members of the Wolverines, the provincial champions in 2018, were coaches at the camp. In some ways, the flag football league for young athletes in Grades 5 to 8, will act as a feeder system for the Wolverines as they become familiar with the sport.
After the Wolverines championship season, head coach Wade Buckley confirmed there was not one concussion all season, which he said was remarkable.
According to the Government of Canada, concussions are a common injury. Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of death, hospitalization, and disability among Canadians and of these, concussions are among the most common.
“We all know there is a serious issue with concussions and no one wants that,” said Rodney. “We all want our kids to have a great time playing together to learn things to be able to strategize to overcome obstacles, achieve goals and there’s no better way to do that than flag football.”
