The first few practices for the Watrous Wildcats flag football team were a steep learning curve.

“We spent a lot of time just throwing and catching a football and trying to understand basic things like a zone defence and pass routes. How to run a route, how to throw a ball to where they're supposed to be instead of where they were,” coach Barry Croshaw said.

That was nothing, however, compared to their first-ever game against the Humboldt Mohawks.

“Initially it was a bit of a shock, the fact they were getting bumped into a little bit. They weren't prepared for a little a bit of bumping and contact and the idea of how fast the game was compared to what we do in practice. It was a bit of a shock. But it was a fun experience,” Croshaw said.

But the team did make progress through their inaugural season. After a couple games they managed a first down. In their final two games last week, they started to score touchdowns.

The team has shown a huge amount of improvement over the season and Croshaw is happy to see them have success outside their comfort zones - regardless of what the scoreboard says.

“I think they learned a little bit about themselves in terms of what they’re capable of doing and a lot of the girls we had, hadn’t played a lot of team sports before. You see a lot of them figure out the value to working with each other on the field and off the field.”

Watrous played to a last-place finish in the western division of the Horizon School Division flag football league, with a 0-6 record and just 20 points scored.

But the coach of the other first-year team in that division predicts better times ahead for the Wildcats.

“I know the coaching over there. If they continue to play, they're going to really bring their game around, I bet you very quickly as well,” Lanigan Lazers coach Ryan Wilson said.

The season has been so competitive for the Lazers that multiple games came down to the wire - one game against the eventual first place Mohawks ended in a scoreless tie, he said.

The Lazers placed second in their division with three wins, one loss and two ties.

It was easier than Wilson expected to get the team up and running, as the players had all participated in other sports before, he said.

“We have a very athletic group of girls and they committed themselves completely to learning the sport and practicing. They were out at 7 o'clock in the morning with me practicing to learn to the plays and understand what’s needed of them. And honestly, after that the execution and the quality of play, it’s all them. 

“They are just that good.”

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Watrous takes on St. Brieux. Submitted photo

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Some Lazers chase down a Wildcat runner. Lanigan Lazers/Facebook