ESTEVAN — Four members of the Estevan Kinette Club Viragos are going to be competing at the Football Canada national women's U18 championships in Ottawa from July 23-29.
Hailey Tangjerd, Ava Salminen and Rylee Briscoe will be part of Team Saskatchewan at the event, while Aurora McCutcheon will be on the Indigenous entry, which will have players from throughout the country.
Tangjerd is the most experienced of the four, having played for Team Saskatchewan in 2022.
"I definitely enjoyed it a lot last year," said Tangjerd. "It was a great opportunity. I met so many wonderful people and had a lot of fun."
Tangjerd was a linebacker last year and is expected to play cornerback and linebacker this year. She and the other athletes had to go through two rounds of tryouts and a selection camp to make the team.
The time spent with Team Saskatchewan last year not only helped her as a player but as a coach. She volunteers with the Estevan Power Dodge U11 Cudas program.
"That helped me to understand how to coach the playbook so much better and helped me understand the importance of teamwork and hard work, especially training beforehand, and things like hydration and eating. I did not realize how important that was," she said.
She encouraged her Virago teammates to try out and is glad to see a few did.
There are also a lot of friends she made through last year's experience, and she is looking forward to having new teammates this year.
Salminen said she thought she had a good start at the first tryout, and then punched her ticket for the team with her second tryout.
"My co-ordination was good and I was trying to be a good teammate and not get frustrated with myself," said Salminen, who expects to be playing on the offensive and defensive lines.
Team Saskatchewan will have a couple of practices together to get to know each other. Then they will fly out to Ontario for the tournament.
Salminen is excited to have fellow Viragos on the team.
"It's nice to know somebody on the team, so you don't just go without knowing anybody, and then it's just nice because we play on the same team at home, so being able to travel together is a nice opportunity."
She expects this experience will help her as a player, as it's a great chance to further push herself if she wants to play post-secondary football. Coaches have experience working at a high level.
As for Briscoe, she said Tangjerd talked a lot about the opportunity of being part of Team Saskatchewan.
"This is my last year to be able to try out, so I thought I would give it a chance," said Briscoe, who expects she will primarily play at receiver but could also play running back.
On the Viragos, she has usually played running back but has also lined up at receiver, so she doesn't expect it will be too much of an adjustment.
It's been an incredible experience and she is quite excited to be on the team.
"I'm very proud and ready for everything to come," she said.
Once she started talking to the other hopefuls at the selection camp, she was able to learn more about them and make some friends.
Briscoe has played with the Viragos for a few years, and she is grateful for the time she spent with the program and the work of the coaches to help her improve.
"I have learned so much from my teammates," she said. "I started football knowing absolutely nothing, and the Viragos have developed me and helped me get better."
The experience with Team Saskatchewan will further her abilities, too.
McCutcheon, who is from Bienfait and is a member of the Pheasant Rump First Nations, has been invited to the national camp for the team that will compete in Ottawa. Her primary position is quarterback and she can also play running back. There is pressure in potentially serving as the team's quarterback, but McCutcheon likes what she has seen so far.
"The team looks good," she said. "We have a lot of young players coming from all over."
This marks the first time there will be an Indigenous team at the national event, and McCutcheon said there is pride in being selected for the camp. She is one of three players from Saskatchewan.
McCutcheon is grateful to the Viragos program for helping her develop as a player.
"It has helped a lot with my skills, like running, catching, sportsmanship and throwing," said McCutcheon, who believes this experience will help her lot and open doors for her as a player.
Also selected was Ella Schenher from Weyburn, who played with the Viragos in their first season.
Saskatchewan will open on July 23 against Alberta, while the Indigenous Team will play that same day against Ontario.
At the first-ever event in Regina in 2022, Alberta defeated Saskatchewan in the final.
