With the fall football season right around the corner, the ECS Elecs will soon be hitting the gridiron in Estevan.

After a season filled with developing younger players and football rookies, head coach Mark Schott is hoping his group can take the next step this year.

"Every single game and situation (last year) was a new experience for them," said Schott. "So we're looking forward to moving past that and have a lot of our players on the field having been there before, recognizing plays developing and being able to use that to increase and improve their performance on the field."

"We're hoping that our group can show some maturity and use that experience from last year to improve on the field this year."

Schott expects his team to be strong on the defensive side of the ball as they were last year, but he hopes that they can improve offensively. 

"Tristan Tober (quarterback ) made some good strides in the spring. Our top receiver Dorian Sifton is a terrific young player. They're going to be our key pieces on offence, but we're looking to add more to that receiving and running back group...some kids with some speed and good hands. We can definitely add more pieces there," he said.

"Really anybody that wants to play, we can definitely add more players to our team. Whether a kid has football experience or not, it doesn't really matter."

The Elecs will hold their first practice on Thursday August 18. The team will also hold a controlled scrimmage with teams from Weyburn and Regina before opening their regular season on Saturday September 3 against Peacock.

Schott said the competition in their league will be stiff, with defending champion Weyburn expected to be the favourite. 

"All six other teams in our league, they're highly competitive. We're hoping that we can be in the mix every game and have a chance to come away with some wins," he said.

Schott said any kids who are interested in playing should get in touch with him. He added that the team is also looking for coaches and an athletic trainer.