It wasn’t all that long ago that the Battle on the Prairies football tournament was essentially little more than an exhibition series against teams from Manitoba, with the Selects program offering a small glimpse of football outside of Saskatchewan.
Those initial steps were such a hit that the only option was to expand, leading to the showcase of four-down football currently underway this weekend.
A total of 15 teams from all over North America are currently taking part in the third-annual event at the Yara Centre, with a weekend filled with football ranging from the Under-10 division all the way up to high school varsity.
It’s all a product of the continuing rapid growth of the Sask Selects program, which continues to focus on skill development and player improvement while fostering a sense of camaraderie and friendship with their far-flung opponents.
“It’s all about the development and exposing these kids to different kinds of talent, not only from this country but the U.S. as well,” said Sask Selects founder Zeljko Stefanovic. “It’s a great avenue to get these different cultures together and everyone bonds on the gridiron. These kids make some great relationships and there are guys who are great friends from when they played against each other back in 2012. That’s what it is all about.”
When something as good as the Selects get rolling, it isn’t long before teams from other places take interest. That’s especially true this time around as teams from Boston and California are playing this week, joined by the Alberta Golden Bears youth program and crews from from Airdrie, Alta.
How that interest has developed is simple -- word of mouth gets out that the Selects program has something going on with their development, something that expands even further when they head south for their annual slate of games against teams from the U.S. and pick up more than their share of wins.
“I think that’s one of the reasons it’s kept growing and expanding over the years, that and the skill development and the fundamentals we teach in this program to make these kids better,” Stefanovic said. “It gives them that tough-as-nails attitude when they’re going down there to play American teams. And I’ll tell you, at a national level in Canada, some of the best football in the country is played right here in our neck of the woods.”
The Battle on the Prairies started six years ago as the aforementioned series with Manitoba, and after a pause to deal with COVID restrictions, interest in expanding the event had increased dramatically with programs from all over western Canada looking to get involved.
“Teams are doing what we’re doing, helping the kids develop over the winter,” Stefanovic said. “A lot of high school coaches and programs spend a lot of time on just preparing for the next game, so there’s not a lot of time for indys or teaching kids how to tackle or catch the ball or a quarterback how to throw a proper drop back. That’s where we come in, we spend a lot of time doing that.”
The Selects program starts young, too, with the idea of having players well-versed in the basics and even moving on to advanced play by the time they hit high-school age.
“We have a group of 11-year--olds who have been in our program for three years now and those kids are going to be unreal when they’re 14 and 15,” Stefanovic said. “We’ve essentially taken that hockey mentality and turned into a year-round thing where it’s always development and you can see it on the field, too.”
Having a chance to see teams from the U.S. certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
“It’s great to see them here, and they’re excited to have a chance to play here, too,” Stefanovic said. “It’s all about exposure for the game and development and having different teams like that playing here is really great.”
Teams played a slate of tune-up games on Thursday, with the 11U Airdrie Eclipse defeating the 10U Sask Selects 40-0, the 13U Selects defeating the 12U Selects 34-6, the Golden Bears Varsity downing the Boston Rebels Varsity 20-6, 14U Golden Bears taking a 34-0 win over the 13U Boston Rebels, the California Mambas edging the 14 Sask Selects 28-25 and the Sask Selects Varsity Red downing the Boston Rebels Varsity B 40-0.
The first round robin game of the tournament on Friday morning saw the 12U Airdrie Eclipse sneak past the Sask Selects 28-20, while the 14U semifinal saw the Sask Selects roll to a 40-0 win over the Boston Rebels. Two tune-up games were also played, as the 11U Selects defeated the 10U Selects 40-0 and the Golden Bears Varsity A defeated the Selects Varsity Black 20-14.
The late games Friday saw the 11U Selects take on the 12U Selects and the Sask Selects Varsity Red dual the Boston Rebels Varsity A in the final game of the day.
Action continues all day Saturday followed by the championship games on Sunday.
Be sure to follow along with all the action, including updated scores and steamed games, on www.selectsfootball.com.
