The Westlock Thunderbirds football team will spend this spring getting into shape, as conditioning camps are set to start soon.
Students in Grades 9-12 can sign up for the squad in the R.F. Staples office from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 16-17 in advance of the spring camps which run throughout May.
Thunderbirds organizer Jerry Buchko said they won’t turn away any interested players at the upcoming camps.
“We don’t cut anybody unless there is over 40 students,” he said. “It’s our sixth year and we’ve never had over 40 students.”
Buchko said the camps, which start May 8, are useful for the coaches in deciding what positions the players are best suited for.
“The drills and plays are more for the newcomers,” he said.
The conditioning camps will run for three weeks, ending with a final jamboree on May 26.
Students signing up are required to pay a $50 registration fee for the conditioning camps and bring a $500 postdated cheque as a deposit for equipment that will be returned at the end of the season.
Buchko added that the team will also get some extra sideline support from their schoolmates this fall.
A new R.F. Staples dance team will perform a halftime routine in support of the club at every home game.
“We usually draw about 300-400 fans a game. It’s just getting bigger and better. Other towns they have 25 fans or 50. I think Athabasca is our closest competitor and they have 100 fans a game,” he said.
With the last season being one of the best the team has ever had, Buchko said the club is planning to provide some incentives this season to try to get more fans supporting the team at the home games.
“I’m looking at getting 1,000 fans at our first game. I’m looking into getting one person to kick a fieldgoal at half time for the chance to win $50,000,” he said.
Other incentives include two $500 scholarships given to a couple of students that attend the first home game as well.
“From what I saw at the Montreal Canadiens Alumni game, if we can get anywhere close to that, then that would be awesome,” Buchko said.
The first regular season game will be on Sept. 7 with home games scheduled to be played behind the Westlock Elementary School.
