By Nathan Kanter

Battleford Youth Soccer getting set for busy season

Apr 21, 2017 | 2:28 PM

May is right around the corner, and along with the warm weather and a sunny sky comes outdoor activities.

Here in the Battlefords, for many kids that means it’s time for the ‘beautiful game’, as soccer season for Battleford Youth Soccer Inc. begins right on May 1.

Demand was so high for the organization this year they had to extend the deadline.

Originally, the early bird fee went until March 23 and then registration closed on April 7 so teams could be put together, but league organizers decided to extend registration.

“We still had more people calling who missed it or who were out of town and it got to the point where we decided it would be more beneficial for the kids in our league to keep it open,” said BYSI executive director Kelly Villeneuve. “We anticipate probably another 15 or 20 more before the season starts.”

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If you are still interested, at this point it can only be done online.

The older age groups were particularly popular this time around — specifically the under-16/18 division, which is the oldest one.

“We are looking at maybe expanding our older age group because we had a very high number of applicants…which is rare,” Villeneuve said.

As of right now, there are 602 youth registered across seven divisions: under-four, under-six, under-eight, under-10, under-12, under-14, and under-16/18.

In addition to the Battlefords, players come from plenty of surrounding communities including Turtleford, Cut Knife, Glaslyn, Hafford, as well as First Nations communities such as Little Pine, Poundmaker, Sweet Grass, Saulteaux, Moosomin, Mosquito, and Red Pheasant.

In the early 2000s, the league hovered around 900 registrations before dipping for a few years. In the past three seasons, however, it has consistently gone up.

“I think it was the popularity of new sports coming in like gymnastics and youth football, they started going around that time, which is great,” Villeneuve said of why he thinks soccer registration dipped after peak years in 2003, 2004, and 2005. “Now lacrosse has come in [as well] but again, soccer has consistently been a popular sport with the kids and the parents as well.”

In addition to league play, BYSI is also holding tryouts for its developmental team on April 24 and 26 at the NationsWEST Field House. Girls and boys aged 12 and up are welcome to attend, with the under-12 age group starting at 6 p.m. Under-14 will begin at 7:30 p.m. and under-16/18 will begin at 8:45 p.m.

There will also be a referee clinic on May 6 and 7, and the league annual general meeting will be at the end of May, where the league is looking for new board members.

The youth outdoor soccer season runs until June 22.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11