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Local athlete looking ahead to a promising football career

Noah Keys, son of Kenneth Keys of the Tadmore area has a promising career ahead of him as a football player.

Noah Keys, son of Kenneth Keys of the Tadmore area has a promising career ahead of him as a football player.

Keys grew up in Seattle, Washington and during his high school years he played on the National Team that won gold in January 2019 at the National Football tournament.

"I was never really interested in playing football. In the beginning it was always basketball," said Keys. "Basketball was my dad's favourite sport but in my Grade 9 school year I tried out and fell in love with football."

During his time playing on the National team he was a little overwhelmed with the magnitude and calibre of talent from the other players on the team, and said was a very exciting time to play with 54 of the best high school football players from across the 50 states.

After Keys’ high school years, he made the decision to move in with his father, Kenneth Keys who lives in Tadmore and currently works at the Preeceville School as a caretaker, after previously being employed at Canora Composite School.

The younger Keys was only in Canada a short time when he applied to enrol at the University of Saskatchewan in the business program. Once he was accepted, the U of S Huskies football team eagerly recruited him to play with them for the 2020-2021 season.

"Being recruited as been a lifetime experience for me but before I could start any camp or school the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It caused everything to be put on hold. I have been taking some classes online for school but for the most part I am living back home with my dad until restrictions can be lifted. The University football team is still trying to figure things out and how we can attend spring football camps with some sort of schedule," he said.

Keys has played around with trying different positions on the football field but fell in love with defensive end. He received an Honourable Mentions trophy in his Grade 12 football year as well as being part of the gold medal winning team at the National level.

Football in Canada is very different from the United States and he has done a lot of studying of the different plays and getting acquainted with the different rules. In order to prepare himself for his new opportunity with the Huskies he has focused on his physical and mental abilities.

"I am working very hard to get myself ready for the next chapter in my life and am excited to have this great opportunity to showcase my talent as a student athlete," he concluded.