The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation is using a bye week to say hello to new Canadians.
The Foundation, in partnership with Football Saskatchewan and the Regina Open Door Society, conducted an introductory football camp at Mosaic Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
A similar session — part of the Foundation’s Grow the Game initiative — was held Tuesday at Saskatoon’s Gordie Howe Sports Complex, where Roughriders players Evan Johnson and Tevin Jones worked with young people in conjunction with the Saskatoon Open Door Society.
C.J. Reavis and Amari Henderson were the player guests on Wednesday.
“To be able to have new Canadians come and experience the game of football here in the mecca of the CFL is amazing,” Mike Thomas, Football Saskatchewan’s Director of Operations, said as the participants took a water break on a humid Wednesday afternoon.
“This is what we’re all about in terms of promoting and advocating the sport in the province — giving kids an opportunity to learn the game from a very elementary aspect.
“To have the Rider players be out here as well is just amazing, because the kids get a chance to see these guys who are on these fields on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. They’re just awesome to be out here with the kids as well.”
On a Sunday not long ago, 13-year-old Diya Jyjesh paid her first visit to Mosaic Stadium.
She was in the stands on Aug. 6 when the Roughriders posted a 26-24 CFL victory over the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
That was a landmark experience for Jyjesh, who moved to Regina from India with her family in March.
In her homeland, “football” is actually soccer. She was also highly familiar with cricket and badminton before being introduced to life in Canada and the football fervour in Saskatchewan.
“It was amazing and really exciting,” Jyjesh said of her first CFL game. “The crowd was cheering the whole time. It was a great experience.”
Much like her second visit to Mosaic Stadium, on Wednesday afternoon.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said with a smile. “It was amazing to learn a few new things. Obviously, I had never played football before, so it was a great experience.”
Drills were conducted by Reavis, Henderson, Thomas, Aimee Kowalski (of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League’s Regina Riot) and Josh Donnelly (a Football Saskatchewan summer student/University of Regina Rams assistant coach).
“The best part was probably meeting the players and learning a lot of techniques, like how to throw and kick a football,” Jyjesh said.
She was joined at Mosaic Stadium by roughly 40 other young people, ranging in age from 13 to 24.
Most of them had emigrated to Canada from China, Nigeria, India, Afghanistan and Sudan over the last year or two, according to Mussarat Parveen of the Regina Open Door Society.
“This is something very interesting for newcomers, for them to learn to be engaged in the community and learn about the game itself, because we watch it on TV and we have no idea of how the game looks like,” said Parveen, the team leader of the welcoming committee for the Regina Open Door Society’s newcomers’ program.
“It is enjoyable to interact, especially with the Rider players, and important to be able to socialize, not only in the community but also with each other while engaging through these games. I think that’s one of the needs.
“Also, we have some clients who are so new to the city and are also refugee clients who do not know the language yet, so this gives them an opportunity to meet with other people and also practise the English language.”
Parveen can relate to their experiences, having moved to Canada from Pakistan with her family in 2017.
“I experienced the game for the first time when I was brought to the stadium,” she recalled. “I didn’t know anything about the game, but I watched it and was really excited for our Riders to play.
“This is kind of a learning opportunity for me every time when we come and engage and bring our clients. We have been given tickets for some games, so we bring our clients to the games as well.”
This is all in alliance with the Foundation’s objective to grow the game by working closely with the Indigenous community, female players, and new Canadians.
In addition to taking part in Wednesday’s camp, the visitors to Mosaic Stadium were given a tour of the facility and an opportunity to ask questions of Reavis and Henderson.
“It’s good to see that the kids are enjoying it and that they are excited about football,” said Roughriders Community Operations Co-ordinator Karina Peterson, who worked closely on this event with the Foundation’s Project Administration Co-ordinator, Marnie Forsberg.
Throughout the year, Peterson is integrally involved in the process that enables players to attend and immerse themselves in community events such as Grow the Game.
When she reached out to Henderson and Reavis about meeting new Canadians on Wednesday, the responses were enthusiastic — as was the vibe during the on-field sessions they conducted.
“Can you all promise me something?” Henderson asked the group before one drill began. “You’ve got to do a little dance — a little shuffle — after you catch the ball. Can you promise me that?”
Sure enough, one aspiring CFLer performed a soft-shoe, as requested.
“I like that one!” Reavis exclaimed.
A few first downs away, Thomas — a former Rams receiver who was drafted by the Roughriders in 2003 — was working with the prospective pass-catchers.
“We’re happy to know that the opportunity we provide will hopefully spark the interest in some of these boys or girls,” Thomas said. “More importantly, if they choose to play the sport, they know there’s an opportunity, and they learned it in this type of environment.
“For us, it’s great, because we know that’s the way that society is going. Eventually, there are going to be young boys or girls who are coming over from Syria or Ukraine or other countries and they’re going to be the leaders because they fell in love with it the first time in this aspect or learned about it from a friend.
“Learning about football is great and, with this environment, you couldn’t ask for a better one for any of these kids.”
