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Express entering four divisions this season
April 26, 2019 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart
The TNT Express will field four teams on the gridiron this season.
Peewee, Bantam, Junior Varsity, and Varsity divisions are currently going through pre-season training in the dome in Bradford.
The Club will also have a house league for Atom and Tyke players.
“Pre-season training started as soon as our winter skills camp was done,” explained Varsity Division team manager Rosemary Foat. “They’re getting in shape and starting to learn their plays. Some of the guys have been doing winter sports but some haven’t. The more time they do stuff together as a team, the more they gel as a team. Being together as a team, even if it’s just doing drills, promotes teamwork.”
Players are put through the paces by coaches. They learn new plays, practice skills, and for new players they learn the game and their position.
Varsity coach Justin Boudreau said part of the coach’s responsibility is to find out what skills a player has and how that will translate to the best position for a player on the field.
“Right now we’re focusing on player identification and
focusing on our skills,” Boudreau explained.
“Player identification is seeing what the players bring to the field and what
they have to offer the team. There are a lot of new guys joining the team so
it’s an opportunity to look at their talent, look at their position – where
they’re most comfortable, and we figure out where guys are going to be on the
field. It’s a whole array of different drills where we’re going to see how guys
function at different levels. There’s a lot of stress on them now learning
things physically and mentally so they’re being pressed on both levels right
now. We’re changing the routes and pushing them at a really fast place. We’re
also evaluating their talent level.”
At the Varsity level, the squad already has enough players to field a team but they are still looking for new players who want to come out and join.
“Our numbers are good and our talent is good. We’re hoping to get five or six more guys. We could use some big boys on the team for offensive and defensive line.”
The League will see some returning teams this year as well as a few new teams that are moving over from different leagues.
“There are a few teams we played last year but there’s some new talent in the division so you never know until you play every team to how things shake down,” Bourdreau said.
The Varsity team will play their first game on the road on May 18.
The regular season starts on the Victoria Day long weekend.
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