BY DARREN ZARY, THE STARPHOENIX APRIL 4, 2012
The Saskatoon Valkyries, who are set to defend their Western Women's Canadian Football League title, have been getting a head start in the snap count.
The Valkyries will hold a practice indoors tonight and once more before heading to the great outdoors for the remainder of their training camp.
"We've been going now for about a month and a half," said Valkyries head coach Jeff Yausie. "We've been using gymnasiums, then the soccer centre for the last few weeks."
The Valkyries have also been training with Ignite conditioning twice weekly.
"They're pretty gungho, to say the least," said Yausie.
But they are not alone in the pursuit of pigskin greatness. "Actually, talking to most of the other teams, we're kind of behind them a little bit - most of them started before we did," admits Valkyries general manager Michelle Duchene.
"That's just kind of the way it rolls. It's kind of what the coaching staff envisions and this is the time of the year we need to start. Also, for all the new girls coming out, it gives them time to get used to playing with all the equipment. It's definitely different."
The Valkyries will open another WWCFL season May 13 against the provincial rival Regina Riot. On Wednesday, they finalized their coaching staff. With the departure of Scott Stevens, who is teaching overseas in Europe, the Valkyries added Dan Houle as running backs coach and Chad Palmer as quarterbacks coach.
"The women have a broad great background in other sports and football is a really complicated game, so they really need good coaching and they soak it up," said Yausie. "It's really important to have good coaches with a good background to provide good feedback to them.
"Women tend to learn faster than (young boys) on the football field, so that's why coaching is so important."
A majority of the team is back, although a few players have hung up the cleats.
The season concludes July 16 with the WWCFL championship game. Following that, Team Saskatchewan will head to Montreal during the August long weekend.
In the meantime, the Saskatoon Sirens - a fledgling Lingerie Football League franchise - has had people talking, but not necessarily for the right reasons, suggested Yausie.
"Most of the girls are pretty fired up," he said. "There has been a lot of media attention but our girls have done a good job of being positive about what the Valkyries experience is like and how they've enjoyed it."
Yausie says his team is pretty fired up about getting an opportunity to play football "the way boys know" what football is about.
"That's not what the LFL is, right?" he said. "It's a little more of a media/marketing thing. It's all about the hype. They are very good athletes and they're playing football - albeit kind of a flag football, a modified version of football. There are very good athletes playing it, but it's about more than that. They could do both (WWCFL and LFL)," added Duchene, "but I would say the majority of our team would not be participating with the other team."
V-CRIES: Kayla Mack, who is training with Canada's national rugby program, will rejoin the Valkyries later this season - Angela Schultz, a D-lineman, moved to Moose Jaw during the offseason and will suit up with the Riot - Retiring from the squad were WR Arielle Popick, WR Alicia Wilson, OL Michelle Rogozinski and DB Lanette Ehman.
dzary@thestarphoenix.com
