Years of hard work and dedication to the sport of football have paid off for Brad Russell.
The Athabasca native and 2013 graduate of Edwin Parr Composite will continue his gridiron career this summer, having signed on to join the Edmonton Huskies of the Canadian Junior Football League.
Russell earned his spot on the team after giving it his all at the teamís spring camp in May. Joining the Huskies will allow him to keep playing the sport he has grown to love during his years at EPC.
ìFootball is a great game. You meet a lot of new people, and you build a strong bond with some of them,î he said.
Since his Grade 8 year, football has been a priority for Russell. He started watching the Athabasca Pacers practices and games before he was even old enough to play for the team, and once he was eligible he joined up and never looked back.
Practicing and playing with the team four to five times a week during the season, he knows football is a game that demands a lot of its participants. Thatís one of the things he likes most about it.
ìWhat you put in, you get back out,î he said.
His years with the Pacers, and under the stewardship of head coach Pete Burden, have been formative ones.
ìItís been the best five years of my life,î he said of his EPC career. ìHe instilled the attitude that youíve got to learn the whole (sport). Anything youíre good at, thatís going to shine through. Without him I wouldnít be close to where I am. I canít thank him enough.î
The coach himself is happy to see another member of the Pacers make the jump to the next level; Russell is the fourth to do so.
ìFor these guys to go to the next level shows what kind of athletes they are,î he said. ìItís good for the boys coming up to see they can make it to that next level.î
A small-town team that draws from a relatively small pool of athletes, the Pacers require a lot of its members; often they must play more than one position.
That experience worked in Russellís favor, as he tried out for the Huskies as a receiver and punter, two positions he excelled at in high school. But with a lot of talent vying for those positions, he took Burdenís advice and moved to full back, another position he had experience in.
His versatility is sure to make him a valuable member of the Huskies. And thatís not the only lesson he has taken from the Pacers.
ìIím willing to learn to get better; Iím very coachable. Thatís something I take pride in. Youíve got to be willing to learn new things,î he said.
Heíll take that positive attitude into the CJFL, a league with lots of history that has produced numerous graduates that went onto Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) and the Canadian Football League. Russell would certainly like to follow in their footsteps, but he knows that wonít be an easy task.
But heís no stranger to hard work in the pursuit of his goals. If he was, he wouldnít be wearing the Husky colors.
ìItís really big for me and my family. Theyíve supported me the whole way.î
And now his football career will take him from a small town to the big city, one step closer to living his dream.
ìItíll be tough to move on (from EPC), but Iím definitely excited about the future.î
