The Steinbach Regional Secondary School's football team was supposed to start Spring Camp on Monday.

Players going into grades 9 and 10 at the SRSS this fall were to have the practice field all to themselves but that didn't happen thanks to six inches of snow.

"We had a wet fall and the field was in pretty rough condition as we closed out our playoff run last year," said Sabres head coach Jamie Peters. "We wanted to give it some time and if we rip it up the last week of April it will be wrecked for all of spring so we decided to postpone camp for another week. We'll start on Monday and carry on with what we need to do and work towards this JV football team and the varsity program as well."

With the teams outdoor practice session cancelled, equipment fitting and a team meeting took place and coach Peters was thrilled to introduce himself to 52 new players and welcome back 20 returning players on Monday afternoon.

"The turnout was amazing," said Peters. "The sport is growing. It makes me feel we're doing something well here. We're offering something that kids want to be a part of and that's something that we're trying to do. The SRSS is a big place and we have lots of students and lots of staff. We just want to provide opportunities for kids to have things to do outside of school and different ways to contribute and participate. I'm just happy to appeal to a certain group of kids."

How excited were his 50-plus new players who are on the cusp of starting their high school football careers?

"There's a lot of different emotions," Peters said. "Some of them are a little bit nervous. They don't know what to expect. There is a good chunk of them that have never played before so they're just trying it out. They won't know until they last a couple of practices and get out on the field and actually go through the motions. Definitely excited."

"We're trying something new and it can be a bit intimidating coming to a big school. I talked to the guys yesterday about a program of 18-20 coaches and 70 total players, and how everybody is important and they can't be intimidated. You really do matter even though you might think you're one of 70. Everyone has something especially if we go with two teams. I think there is a lot of different feelings for these kids."

Peters adds the welcome mat is still out - even though it's under a bit of snow.

"We're still looking for anybody that's interested in coming out and we start next week."