1 week Ago By By Perry Bergson
Another season begins today for the Westman Youth Football Association, and registration suggests it will be a promising one. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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Another season begins today for the Westman Youth Football Association, and registration suggests it will be a promising one. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Another season begins today for the Westman Youth Football Association, and registration suggests it will be a promising one. WYFA already has 180 kids registered, which is the high since COVID completely waylaid the sport in 2020 and 2021.
The preseason begins today with the first of two weeks of no-pad practices as a big group doing basic skills and the fundamentals of football. The league then rolls straight into games on May 6. In addition, the organization also holds its annual bring-a-friend day on Thursday, and youngsters can come out without registering and try some drills with no equipment.
“Participation is really our best promotion,” WYFA president Brady Dane said. “Get out here and experience and try it, and I think when you talk to football people, kids really take to it. Once they get a taste of it, they become football lifers .
.. The kids who get into it are our best advertisements.
” That, combined with the fact that registration doesn’t officially close until the equipment is handed out, means 200 kids may not be out of reach. “Two hundred, we would be very, very excited,” Dane said. “We’re already really happy to be over 180.
That’s up from just under 170 last year.” After the post-COVID doldrums had registration down around 140 to 150, the last couple of seasons had been pretty steady, at about 170 kids. When the association began in 2000, it had just 48 players.
“It would just be the continuation of a positive trend we’ve seen coming out of COVID,” Dane said. “We’re adding to our numbers every year. We’re trending upwards consistently since then.
” The under-10 terminator division (2016 and 2017 birth years) has seen about a 30 per cent increase in registration, with about 35 kids this year. “That’s huge growth for us because those kids potentially have another six years of football in them,” Dane said. “The growth of those younger age groups is awesome.
” WYFA also runs the U12 atom division (2014-2015 born), the U14 peewee division (2012-2013) and the U16 bantam division (2010-11), with the peewee and bantam age groups remarkably consistent for numbers over the years. The older age groups play nine-a-side and have rosters of 18 to 22 kids, with the younger age groups playing six-a-side with rosters of 12 to 14. “We’ve very excited,” Dane said.
“There are lots of emails going out right now, lots of questions from new players. It’s always nice to answer the questions. The big thing for us is that we supply the equipment.
“We have new parents coming in saying ‘What do we need to buy, what do we need to get?’ and it’s always cool to say ‘We supply the helmet, we supply the shoulder pads, we supply the football pants. You come with a set of cleats and we’re going to set you up to play football.’” A large group of volunteers ultimately makes it happen: Dane is proud of the fact that graduates of the WYFA who now play for the three high school programs come back to help every year as coaches and referees.
“There are some headaches of course but it’s all worth it when you get out there and see some football,” Dane said. Dane, who was out at Boyd Stadium doing cleanup on Sunday, said the facility wintered well. Volunteers put up some snow fencing in the fall to keep the deer out, and that helped.
The snow is all gone and the turf looks to be in good shape. The facility is part of Simplot Millennium Park, which is located near the Maple Leaf plant on the southeast side of the city, nestled at the junction of Richmond Avenue East and Highway 110. Boyd Stadium is in the northwest corner of the large rectangle of land.
The main football field is 150 yards long — both end zones are 20 yards deep — by 65 yards wide, making it a regulation Canadian Football League playing surface. There are also a number of smaller fields for younger players. Perhaps the nicest development this spring is it will be the first full year with the goal posts in the ground.
They were installed in May 2024, and now stand as a testament to the original vision of a dedicated football facility. “It was huge,” Dane said. “There is still so much more we would like to do out there and that we will do out there, but putting those goal posts felt like the end of that phase of that project.
This is now a football field, and that capped that off. “Just to be able to kick field goals and extra points and really experiencing the full game and being able to play the game how it’s meant to be played was such a big statement to us and meant a lot to us.” The project was originally the brain child of Kevin Boyd and Blaine Moroz.
It took flight when the land was acquired through a donation by Simplot Millennium Park, although work didn’t begin until 2017, a year after Boyd’s sudden death at age 46. The turf was put down in August 2017 as work began in earnest on the facility. The sod was allowed to take root in 2018 and the first weekend of games was played at the site in June 2019.
Then the facility sat empty for two years due to the pandemic. If there was one small benefit, that allowed even more time the sod to get established. “It’s a huge concern that you don’t want to overwork the field,” Dane said.
“You don’t want to wear it out. You want to use it and you want it be used but you also want it to be great ..
. “I’m sure there was some benefit there but it was tough for us to see it, especially in that second year not being allowed to play. There was more frustration than appreciation in those moments.
” One major difference for WYFA this summer is that the partnership with the Brandon Cricket Club that began in 2021 has ended. The other sport is moving to the McCain Cricket Pitch in the Maple Leaf Foods Sports Complex that is part of the city’s recreation development at the corner of First Street and Veteran’s Way. The field is scheduled to open on July 21.
The 2021 partnership between football and cricket came at a perfect time for WYFA, which was facing financial pressure from two directions. The pandemic cost the organization two full years of revenue from their house league registrations, and at the same time, the new field had costs that needed to be covered. Cricket was allowed to play, however, and a friendship was born.
“The partnership with cricket came at a great time,” said Dane, who noted WYFA was always in a good spot financially. “We had just opened these fields and used them in the spring of 2019. The next year there was no football and the next year there was no football, and in that moment, the Simplot Millennium Park and Westman Youth Football partnered with the cricket association.
“They were using the facility, and that was the point, for somebody to be using it but also generating some revenue that allowed us to pay for the ongoing maintenance costs, getting the grass cut, fertilizer, pesticide treatment, water and all that stuff. It was a critical, critical partnership for us in that moment, which was a tough time for everybody.” Dane said WYFA remains open to renting its facility with other user groups who are a good fit.
When fundraising originally started in 2017, Phase 1 included the construction of two football fields, installation of irrigation and goal posts. Phase 2 was the installation of poles and field lights, construction of a parking lot and scoreboard installation and Phase 3 was the construction of a clubhouse building, field equipment shed, picnic area, pathways, signage, landscaping and fencing. Each of those phases involve significant costs, so the organization is picking away at the projects as it can pay for them.
The one big change Dane hopes will be accomplished this year is getting electricity and city water out to the main field. “That would be a big first step,” Dane said. “Just the idea of having running water and electricity is an exciting prospect for us, which is funny to say.
That’s the first step we’re circling for this year.” He said overall, the game is in great shape in Westman, noting the strength of the high school teams in Brandon and the nine-man squads in the Rural Manitoba Football League. The one blemish remains the loss of the Westman Wolverines of the Manitoba Major Junior Football League, which took a leave in 2022 and hasn’t returned.
Dane, who was head coach of the club while also serving as an assistant at Vincent Massey, noted Boyd Stadium is available, and the equipment and jerseys can be pulled out of storage if the Wolverines ever come back. He said there are conversations about reviving the program every year, but it needs a new coach to spearhead the efforts. “I think there is the talent out there,” said Dane, who also played for the club.
“I know there is. Crocus and Massey have had a ton of success, especially in the last few years ..
. The talent is great in the RMFL as well, we just a need a coach to take that on. “I think it could be a lot of fun and we could have a great team here again.
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