The U18 Sask Selects football team were recently in Alberta to take on Team Alberta on June 16. The Saskatchewan team was the dominant one, with a final score of 40-0 for the local team.
Two players from Yorkton made the trip to Alberta, Josh Kidd and Dallas Thiessen.
“It’s pretty special, not everyone gets a chance to wear Saskatchewan across their chest,” said Kidd.
The experience was valuable because it helped them learn more about football, explained Thiessen. They had the chance to work with the best coaches in the province, and that was an amazing experience, but also one that had a real impact on their game overall.
For Kidd, the highlight of the game was how the team quickly came together. He credits the team’s success in Alberta to how quickly the players and coaches bonded and figured out a strategy.
“That was pretty interesting, to see how we were able to come together and go on to win.”
The team was dominant in the game, and Thiessen said that the quality of the team is
“We were kind of a strong force from the start, and it went on from there, our defense was playing really good.”
The other benefit to going to Alberta was having the chance to play against players they haven’t played against before.
“It was good to have some competition with Alberta, play some new guys,” said Kidd.
Both players believe the experience will benefit them as they continue their football careers, whether in Yorkton as part of the Raider Gridders or beyond. Both are looking forward to the next season playing in the city, and they hope they can get a provincial title for the local squad.
“We’re just going to have to work hard and stay together,” Kidd said.
Thiessen hopes that in the next season, they can use their experience to teach younger players some of the techniques they learned in Alberta and help the team as a whole become stronger.
