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Josh Kidd to join the Regina Thunder

The football future for Yorkton’s Josh Kidd is looking strong. Part of the provincial championship winning YRHS Raider Gridders squad, Kidd is moving on to Regina, and will join the Regina Thunder football club for the 2020 season.
Kidd
Regina Thunder coach Scott MacAulay with Josh Kidd.

The football future for Yorkton’s Josh Kidd is looking strong. Part of the provincial championship winning YRHS Raider Gridders squad, Kidd is moving on to Regina, and will join the Regina Thunder football club for the 2020 season.

Kidd said that he has been familiar with the Regina Thunder through camps and some of the coaches, and is excited for the opportunity to play for the team. His goal is to just improve and learn more about the sport.

“I’m looking forward to meeting new guys, I’m looking forward to making friends and just getting new bonds with teammates. I’m looking forward to getting new coaching, just like get all the knowledge I can... Everybody has different stuff to add on to the toolbox of tools and skills you have playing football.”

Kidd is coming off the championship year of the Raider Gridders, and the experience, and the close-knit nature of that team, is what made him want to keep in the sport.

“It makes me want to be a part of football in my future moreso, so it made me look forward, look at my future as a football player and just want to make it more a part of my life.”

Head Coach Scott MacAulay said they identified him as a prospect a couple years ago, he said, through Football Sask events, and they saw that he was a big kid and tough, as shown by him playing with an injured shoulder. But what made him stand out was his ‘football IQ.’

“Being the center, you’ve got to be the guy that’s able to communicate with both sides of the line and who’s blitzing and who’s picking what up. With his knowledge of the game, that’s a big, huge thing that’s going to good for us to bring on board.”

MacAulay said that they feel they’re one of the top two teams in the country, though the other team that’s in contention for that title happens to be their main rival in the Prairie Football Conference.

“The Saskatoon Hilltops have won the last six national championships, but we’re the only team to give them any kind of game and beat them. The bottom line is that we have expectations to be one of the top teams in the PFC and then, you know, most of the time, the top team in the PFC is the one that wins the national championship. We expect to be top in the country.”

Jason Boyda with the Raider Gridders said that this is something they love to see with players. Their goals are education and football opportunities, and Kidd will have the chance to continue his football career and have eduction in Regina following his graduation.

“I’m so proud that his hard work has paid off.”

Kidd was the anchor of the offensive line of the Raider Gridders, said  Boyda.

“His film study and his work ethic on the football field carried over in game situations. He did a fantastic job mentoring our offensive linemen, and he was a calm presence within our offense. It had a trickle down effect to all of our players. Josh doing what Josh does really well allowed the other players to do their best with their assignments.”