The BMF Bucks have taken home a KFL championship each of the last three years proving themselves among the elite minor football programs in the region. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Battlefords Minor Football

BMF Bucks to forego season, still hold fall camp

Sep 3, 2020 | 5:23 PM

It’s been nothing short of a half-decade of dominance exemplified by the Battlefords Minor Football (BMF) Bucks, since the team joined the Saskatoon-based Kinsmen Football League ranks five years ago.

In that time, they have set the standard for minor football within the region, having taken home three-straight league championships over each of the last three seasons.

However, this season it doesn’t look like another team will dethrone the powerhouse on the gridiron, but rather, chance circumstance, the COVID-19 pandemic.

That is because at this time, due to a multitude of reasons associated with the ongoing pandemic, the Bucks have chosen not to participate in KFL league play this fall season.

Instead, the team will opt to hold its annual ‘spring camp’ – which was postponed earlier this year — later this month, with a strict focus on training and development this year.

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Head coach of the Bucks, Paul Fransoo said the decision was not made lightly, but ultimately seemed to be the right call for a host of reasons, including uncertainties regarding travel, returning to school and other potential health factors.

”It was not an easy decision and we feel for our senior Bucks as this was set to be their time, their year,” Fransoo said. “It’s unfortunate in many ways but doing nothing at all would be worse that doing something that is a little different than we’re used to. Hopefully we’ll get back to the way things were next season and the extra focus on skills, drills and player development will have the Bucks at a very competitive level again.”

With as many as 27 new players set to join the team this fall, Fransoo said it is still extremely valuable to hold a camp this year, to offer those newer players a chance to get comfortably acclimated to the game.

“There are a lot of these young guys who may have never put the gear on, and never gone through our safe tackling circuits and things like that,” Fransoo said. “To learn the process of the game and how it should be played is a big deal for us.”

The Bucks’ camp is expected to run from four to five weeks starting later this month, and will feature a couple of sessions each week.

The players will go through safe tackle circuits, get fit for their gear, and run drills in a practice style. Additionally, the coaches will also have the opportunity to assess the players, both individually and as a group, for what kind of a player they are and where they might fit best on either the offensive or defensive side of the ball.

Toward the tail end of camp, players will then have the opportunity to show what they’ve learned in a practical sense by taking part in some offence vs defence, intersquad play.

Fransoo said while Bucks’ football may look different in a lot of ways this year, at the end of the day, it will just be nice to get back on the field together and have some fun enjoying the game and staying active.

“I know lots of the players are itching for something to do, so it’s going to be really good that way and it’ll give these guys a place to put some of their energy here in the fall,” Fransoo said. “It will be great to get out again and do something football related, even if the way we do it is different due to the protocols.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1