The Airdrie Storm Bantam football club only has one more week of preparations before the start of the regular season.
But the team, which plays in the Calgary Bantam Football Association, has been practicing since the second week of August and head coach Steve Kemp said his players are already looking like they’re in mid-season form.
“We’re starting to look really crisp,” he said. “We’ve got a good athletic and smart team, so they’re picking up what we’re teaching them really quick. It’s good having that, because now we can focus more on polishing and getting stuff up to full game speed instead of teaching the play over and over again. It’s been pretty exciting.”
Kemp, who also coaches the midget-level Northern Raiders program in the spring, said he is starting to see a difference in Airdrie’s football culture. With the Atom, Peewee, Bantam and Midget programs all running, it has become simpler to gauge the area talent and increase the number of returning players.
“Their football background and knowledge – they understand the terminology and we don’t have to spend as much time on simple things, so we can get more into our system,” Kemp said. “We can keep pace and even pass some of those top-end Calgary teams.”
The Storm have the CBFA football jamboree on Aug. 20 and will open the season Aug. 27 against the newly merged Calgary Cyclones, formerly the Broncos and Goldenhawks. Game time is 9 a.m. at Shouldice Park’s Hellard Field.
Kemp said he expects a solid balance between offence and defence this season.
“On defence, we’re going to be hard to run the ball against. We’ve got a really good group of linebackers, probably one of the best that we’ve had in a few years. They’re going to be really aggressive, flying around hitting people,” he said.
“On offence, this year, we’re looking to be a little more balanced, which would make us really dangerous. We’ve got a good quarterback, a good running back and a good group of receivers. If we’re executing properly, it makes things really hard on the opposing defence. With the way practices have been going, it’s been very promising.”
The Storm is also looking to improve on its 3W-5L 2010 season.
“Our goal is the same as always: win a championship,” Kemp said. “The expectation is playoffs. Anything less would be a bust.”
Peewee Storm head coach Nolan Rohl and Atom Storm head coach Thomas Rohl also have their teams ready for the new season.
“Things are coming together kind of slowly as far as numbers go, but as far as player development, it’s actually going pretty quick,” Nolan Rohl said. “We’re already pretty much up to full speed, about three weeks ahead of where we were last year for contact and knowledge of the game. We’re looking good going into the season.”
Games are on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays in the B division of the Calgary Peewee Football Association.
“I do expect to do very well this year,” Nolan said. “There is a lot of heavy skill development with these kids – they are very strong players athletically. The strength of the team is definitely going to be on the offence for once. We have a more athletic offensive line who can move and block a lot more to drive things forward.”
The Atom and Peewee seasons both begin Aug. 23.
