Fostering a love for the game
Holland College Hurricanes assistant coach offers non-contact program for young children
Armed with a passion for football, Stephen Letner started knocking on doors at the Royalty Centre in Charlottetown two years ago when he and his family moved to P.E.I.
The native of Ohio not only wanted to be involved, his goal was to have a part in just about every level of football there was in the province.
Everything started to fall into place when he introduced himself to Football P.E.I. executive director Glen Flood. The meeting led to a flurry of opportunities.
Letner became assistant coach with the Atlantic Football League’s Holland College Hurricanes, got involved with the P.E.I. Tackle Football League’s Cornwall Timberwolves and now he’s lending a hand at the grassroots level.
Letner is offering a non-contact introduction to football program for six- to eight-yearold children at Eliot River School in Cornwall.
His hope is it will foster a love of the game in the children with some of them choosing to play and ultimately end up with the Hurricanes.
“It’s teaching them how to run properly, how to catch, how to throw (and) hand-eye co-ordination,’’ Letner says.
“I’m doing a lot of drills with them. . . I teach them agility with their feet. There are no games involved.’’
When he arrived in Prince Edward Island, Letner found there was essentially nothing being offered for kids in the age In addition to assistant coaching duties with the Holland College Hurricanes of the Atlantic Football League, Stephen Letner is now offering an introduction to football program through Football P.E.I. geared towards children six- to eight-years-old. For more information, contact Stephen Letner at stephenletner@yahoo.com or footballpeiexecutive@gmail.com. group. Cornwall and Summerside both have atom programs for kids 10- to 12-years-old, but he wanted to start earlier.
“We want them to be football players but there’s more to life than just playing football so we’re trying to develop kids the best we can,” he says.
“God directed me here. I felt the call to come and help out the local church that we’re a part of. Our kids started school and I thought now was the time to do this.’’
He acknowledges some parents are hesitant about putting their kids in football. The movie Concussion and the NFL lawsuit are reminders of what damage being a part of the game can do.
“Remember, these are players who have been taking hits to the head since they were six or seven years old. Such a small percentage (of people) actually get to that level.’’
Flood said the program and Letner were a perfect match.
“Football P.E.I. continues to look at programs to get younger kids into football in a safe, fun way,’’ Flood said.
“It is non-contact so the kids will not be tackling or hitting, just basically being active while learning some skills on the game.’’
Letner’s program runs every Saturday morning from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and the cost is $20. The program is also operating at Lucy Maud Montgomery school in Charlottetown and in York.
How long the program runs depends on interest.
Right now, there are about eight children in his program but Letner is hoping to grow it. Dave Cameron’s brother, Charlie, has joined Bedeque, P.E.I., native Gardiner MacDougall behind the bench of the UNB Varsity Reds. “It’s going to take a little getting used to,” said Cameron. “I’ve been removed from the game for a while, and the speed and pace of the game has changed so much.” B3 Women’s soccer player Kristyn Visser and men’s baseball player Brady Arsenault have been named the Holland Hurricanes athletes of the week. Visser, in her first season, led Holland College to back-toback wins on the road this weekend in New Brunswick. The defender scored on Saturday in a 6-0 win over the STU Tommies before locking down the backend in Sunday’s 4-1 win over the UNBSJ Seawolves. The Hurricanes are 5-0-1 and sit atop the ACAA standings alongside the MSVU Mystics. The soccer Hurricanes take to the road this weekend in Halifax. On Saturday, the ‘Canes take on the UKC Blue Devils before visiting MSVU Mystics on Sunday. The South Winsloe native is currently studying in the primary care paramedicine program. Arsenault, a pitcher from Summerside recorded the first-ever no-hitter in Hurricanes baseball history on Saturday in a 10-0 victory over the Saint Mary’s Huskies. The third-year player struck out six while walking one over six innings of work. He threw 69 pitches in the game and is 2-0 this season. The baseball Hurricanes lead the Atlantic conference with a 7-0 record. They return to action Saturday, hosting the Crandall Chargers at Memorial Field at Victoria Park in Charlottetown before travelling to Wolfville, N.S., on Sunday to visit the Acadia Axemen.