Sports | DrumhellerMail

Titans gear up for spring training

    Spring training is right around the corner which means the Drumheller Titans will soon be strapping on their helmets, cleats, pants and shoulder pads in preparation for the upcoming football season.
   “Theres a lot going on this year,” said Ken Fournier, head coach for the Drumheller Titans.
   “As far as spring training goes this year, it’s more or less just to bring the young guys up and get them introduced to our system.”
   Fournier has a lot in store for the team this year as they will have to spend some time going over the American rules before they embark on their trip to Honolulu in August.
   “We also need to get ready to go for fall because it’s going to be tight with only being allowed to practice so many days before we leave to Hawaii,” said Fournier.
   “Spring training could go until early June this year,” he added.
   So far the Titans have several tournaments planned for the spring, including a tournament in Okotoks on May 4.
   “During the first tournament we’ll be missing seven of our top players, so that’ll give the young guys a chance to step up,” said Fournier.
   The team this year looks promising as the roster has quickly began to fill up for spring training.
   “We only graduated seven from last year and we’re going to bring up more than that, so we expect around the 40 mark for the spring,” said Fournier.
   Equipment checkout will be on the 23rd and 24th of April with the first on-field practices taking place on the 25th and 26th.
   Two hour practices will resume over the next several weeks from Monday to Friday beginning at 4 p.m.

Break out your lacrosse stick

    The fastest game on two feet has started running.
   The Badlands Lacrosse Association is ready for the upcoming season and has begun practicing at the Badlands Community Facility.
   Already, the rosters are full for most teams after a registration drive at the Sports, Arts, and Recreation Expo earlier this month.
   “We had a really good turnout and had most of our teams filled up that night. Everything but the Bantam team was filled,” said Ren Dumaine, president of the Badlands Lacrosse Association. “Our season has started, with practices in the Community Facility.”
   The association held its annual general meeting on Monday, March 25 in the Badlands Community Facility. One of the topics they addressed is to get more volunteers to help coach or help with the administrative end of the organization.
   “We’ll be in need of coaches in our younger groups. We’re always looking for volunteers in our younger groups,” said Dumaine. “We’re also looking at other volunteers. We could use someone to help us with marketing, because right now, we don’t have enough time to handle that as well as we want to.”
   Badlands Lacrosse continues to benefit from strong support from the community. Last year saw full rosters as well on each team. The teams were busy throughout the season and the Bantam team made a run at the league championship, making it to the semi-finals.
   Anyone who is interested in getting involved with lacrosse or registering on a team is encouraged to drop by Source for Sports.

Local girl joins Calgary Xtreme softball team

    Years of intense practice are starting to pay off for former Drumheller resident, Cersten Peters, since she was recruited to play for the Calgary Xtreme U18 “A” girl’s fast pitch softball team this season.
   The Xtreme softball team consists of girls from Calgary and surrounding rural areas under the age of 18. They will start their regular season in the Calgary Women’s Fastpitch Association (CWFA), playing at a Division 1 level.
   “It’s definitely been a goal of mine just to be on an A caliber team or a highly dedicated and committed team for sure,” said Peters, who has devoted six years of her life to softball, playing for teams like the Drumheller Venom and the Canadian Adrenaline Fastball Association (CAFA) U18 team.
   After trying out for the Xtreme softball team in October last year, she heard the news on Christmas day that she would get to play for the U18 team this year.
   “They are a bunch of great girls and they were really welcoming,” said Peters. “They didn’t show me a cold shoulder coming in to play as the new person.”
   With team practices on Sunday nights, pitcher’s and catcher’s training on Mondays and team conditioning on Thursdays, Peters said the level of training and commitment that she has experienced in her short time with the Xtreme team is unparalleled to that of previous teams she’s played for.
   “It’s a lot more intense,” she said. “Every inning has a strategy. It’s not like you can just go out there, throw the ball, and hope for the best.”
   Off-season training for the Xtreme U18 softball team started in October and runs until the beginning of the regular season in April.
   The team will play their first tournament of the year indoors in Edmonton on April 21 before the regular season commences on April 30.
   All regular season games will take place at the Shouldice four-plex in Calgary with double-header league games being played every Tuesday evening.

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