TISDALE — Tisdale residents will see a familiar face this season on the Regina Thunder football team, with graduating Tisdale Tornados team member Austin Wood signed on as their new receiver.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to play football again,” Wood said.
“It’s been my dream since I was young. I wanted to play football after high school, so I’m speechless.”
Wood has been with the Tisdale Tornados since Grade 7 in various positions, mainly focusing on receiving.
While he spent five years with the Tornados, he wasn’t always considered to be such a skilled player, having been cut from both Team Sask in Grade 8 and South Sask Selects in Grade 10.
“I think my experience level got higher, so I knew more about the game, and I didn’t let it stop me when I got cut. It just made me want to work harder and prove everybody else wrong.”
Wood said that he believes what set him apart from other possible candidates for the Regina Thunder is his work ethic and “coachability”.
“I don’t give up and I just keep putting in all my effort even when I’m tired I’m giving it 100 per cent,” he said.
“I want to play football as long as I can and I just want to be a main factor to the Thunder now.”
He currently commutes from Tisdale to the practices. Wood said his long term plan is to spend the next year dedicated to football and finding a job in Regina, before going to post-secondary the following year to train with the goal of becoming a paramedic.
“I have to go to Regina every Wednesday,” he said. “It’s a lot of driving for a one-and-a-half hour practice, but it’s worth it.”
