Six-a-side football in small-town Saskatchewan: 'Half the players, twice the athletes'

CLAVET — Like, where are all the players?

That’s the first thing Brendan O’Reilly thought during his introduction to six-a-side football in Saskatchewan.

O’Reilly — who played U Sports football at Acadia University — had been summoned to help coach a high school football team years ago in the small town of Aberdeen (pop. 700), which is located about 40 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

“So I came out for my first practice. I was, like, ‘where is everybody? I mean, only half the team’s here!’” recalls O’Reilly, who grew up in Ontario where he played his high school football at Glendale Secondary School in Hamilton, and now teaches and helps out the Clavet Composite six-aside team in Saskatchewan.

“They were, like, ‘No, no, it’s six-man!’”

Yes, six-a-side football. It’s really a thing.