They started with exhibition games last year and now they've got a bonafide league.  The Moose Jaw High School Boys Soccer League will kick off next week and feature three teams with Central, Vanier and Riverview/Cornerstone taking part.

Commissioner Jeff Kitts says the league has been about a year in the making, "Last year we did a kind of trial season and once a week, the three schools would meet on Wednesday and play half hour scrimmages, and that was kind of in the hopes to have a league formed this year and make sure the interest was there.  We moved forward with a league this year and got approved.

"Judging by the coaches meeting, there's a lot excitement in the air.  I know there was a lot of excitement at school, kids are excited to have a league and someone competitive to play against every week."

There has been a girls league in Moose Jaw for a little over a decade, but in recent years, momentum has been building to get a boys league set up.  Kitts, who will also be coaching the Riverview/Cornerstone team, says they're hoping this can lead to growth of the game in the Friendly City, "About a year and a half ago, the idea came up at our school and we just looked at the new soccer facility and the numbers for soccer across the province have been going up, so for those kids now coming out of Grade 8, they know they have an option to play their sport, or a sport they enjoy."

The season will be feature six games per team, with each team playing the other two, three times.  After that, there will be two rounds of playoffs with the top seeded team getting a bye into the final.  "The first game will be Riverview/Cornerstone against Vanier and that's going to be on Monday, September 10th," said Kitts.  "The season itself is a very short window, due to the later start (to the school year).

"Central and Vanier are 2A schools, so they will be hosting regionals on the weekend of October 19th and 20th and Riverview/Cornerstone will be competing in a 7-on-7 category and our regionals aren't set for location, but they're on the same weekend as the 2A regionals."

The Central Cyclones boys team has taken part in provincials for the past two years, winning bronze last season.

The Moose Jaw High School Girls Soccer season gets underway this weekend with four games at Sunningdale Field on Saturday.  Peacock, Swift Current and Estevan will all be in action with games going at 10:30am and 2:45pm.

Commissioner Jeff Kitts fills us in on the new Boys School League.