The Kindersley Composite School’s senior football team is off to a promising start after claiming their first win of the season at the home opener last Friday. The senior Kobras took the victory over the Clavet Cougars with a final score of 64 to 56, proving they can hold their own in 6-man football.

In previous years, the Kobras competed in the 9-man division and to help with the transition to 6-man, KCS recruited a new coach with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the new division.

Myron Beswitherick recently moved to Kindersley from Kerrobert, where he coached 6-man football for 12 years and has now joined the coaching staff with KCS for the 2019-2020 season.

“This [position] is new for me here at KCS, my son is playing so I decided to help out – this is the first year that Kindersley will be a 6-man team and they asked me, with my experience, to come along side the coaching staff and help them out.”

He emphasized that despite being recognized as the team’s head coach, it is a collaboration between all members of the coaching staff and he said he is happy to provide any knowledge and guidance to help get the Kobras as many wins as possible.

Beswitherick explained that the change in divisions is simply due to the school size and number of players on the team.

“In 12-man football, you need upwards of 60 kids in order to make up a team, where in 9-man you need about 40 to 45 and in 6-man, really anywhere from 12 to 28 – this year though, we are really excited, we have had a great turn out and probably have upwards of 30 kids on the team, so it’s great to see an interest in football come back into the school.”

He added many of the players on the team this year are fresh out of the junior division and therefore, creates a great opportunity to have a strong team in the years to come.

In 6-man football, Beswitherick explained some of the fundamental differences from 9-man, including a smaller field size, creating a more wide-open game.

“In a typical 6-man game, you’re looking at both teams scoring around 40 points, so its a little more wide open and the kids get a lot more variety in 6-man, as far as what they have to know and what they have to learn compared to 12-man or 9-man.”

As the vast majority of the west central senior football teams compete in the 6-man division, Beswitherick said it is not surprising and 6-man football is apart of Saskatchewan’s culture.

“Saskatchewan is the biggest in Canada for the 6-man program. Alberta and Ontario both have a little one but that’s pretty much it. To give you a little reference, down in the States in Texas, they have over 200 6-man schools and we have 60 in Saskatchewan.”

Although the team has just one game under their belt so far, Beswitherick said they have witnessed a noticeable difference in the team from their first practice, stating he is excited about the season and there’s no reason the boys cant get to a provincial final this year.

The Kobras next game will be in Outlook this Friday as they take on Blues for game two of the season.