CHARLES TWEED/Ponoka News
Snow, snow, go away, please come back another day.
If the Ponoka Minor Soccer Association (PMSA) had a mantra right now it may be just that.
The soccer season is set to officially open the first week of May but PMSA president Shawna Pearman is already preparing for a late start.
“It’s going to be tough this year and the snow doesn’t seem to be melting too quickly. So it has hindered the start of our season. I would suspect we won’t get started until the second week of May and then we might have to have some Saturday games (to make up lost games) or go a little bit longer in the year,” said Pearmam.
The season usually has an unofficial kick-off tournament in Lacombe called the Sunbreaker but Pearman said she wouldn’t be surprised if the tournament is re-scheduled or cancelled altogether depending on the weather.
There are about 300 active soccer players in Ponoka ranging from the under-6 division up to the adult teams. The under-10 teams compete in a fun house league in Ponoka while the higher divisions play in the Central Alberta Soccer Association league.
Pearman said most of the coaches of the competitive teams are back but there is always a challenge finding coaches for the younger divisions.
“I think it’s partly because people are a little bit intimidated by soccer because they never played before but we run coaching clinics to help people and give them the base they need to coach,” said Pearman.
The under-18 girls team has put an application forward to host provincials this year but hasn’t heard back whether their bid has been accepted or not yet. Pearman said the team should be strong this year due to the fact they didn’t lose a lot of girls from last year’s team that went to provincials.
For more information on the league visit www.central-alta-soccer.ca