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| Julene Friesen (#14) charges to the end zone after catching a pass. |
After
graduating from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies track and field team in
2013, Friesen wanted to try something completely new and joined the Saskatoon
Valkyries of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League. Having experienced a
lot of success as a middle distance sprinter for the Huskies, Friesen was
driven to prove she belonged with the Valkyries.
As
rookie running back on a team that had won the first two WWCFL titles, Friesen
was frustrated at times with the growing pains she endured.
“It was something completely new, and I wasn’t feeling much success at the start,” said Friesen, who stands 5-foot-5. “I was so used to individual sports and having all the pressure on me that it took me awhile to realize that I can have teammates block for me.
“It was something completely new, and I wasn’t feeling much success at the start,” said Friesen, who stands 5-foot-5. “I was so used to individual sports and having all the pressure on me that it took me awhile to realize that I can have teammates block for me.
“When I screwed up, a lot of
times it is so many other things that went wrong too. It is never just one
player. I learned to love it.”
By the
end of the 2013 campaign, Friesen had helped the Valkyries win a third straight
WWCFL title. She took 2014 off from playing tackle football, because she wanted
to try her hand at beach volleyball and running 30-kilometre races. At the U of
S, the distances Friesen ran were a lot shorter being commonly between 400 and
800 metres.
While
the former track star stepped away from football, Friesen’s confidence did grow as
her first campaign progressed with the Valkyries. She rejoined the team this
season with a new appreciation for the sport.
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| Julene Friesen (#14) celebrates a TD with Marci Kiselyk. |
In high
school, Friesen played touch and flag football. Her biggest influence in
helping her improve her skills then was physical education teacher Darla
Lee-Walde. Friesen and Lee-Walde were Valkyries teammates in 2013.
Growing
up, Friesen saw the contact version of the sport from the stands on a frequent
basis, because her older brother Mitch played. Mitch would go on to suit up
with the Saskatoon Hilltops of the Canadian Junior Football League and the
Huskies football team.
Julene’s
interest in tackle football also grew due to the fact her boyfriend is Kit
Hillis, who played for the Hilltops and is the Huskies all-time leader in
career receptions. Hillis exhausted his eligibility with the Huskies last
season.
As a
member of the Huskies track and field team, Julene wasn’t allowed to play tackle
football, because her U of S track coaches were concerned about her getting
injured. Friesen joined the Valkyries about a month after she graduated from
the Huskies track program, and she also learned playing tackle football wasn’t
like the touch and flag versions of the sport.
“It is just a totally different
game,” she said. “I love how complex it is. It is just a total team sport.”
Friesen’s
confidence showed in the Valkyrie first two games this season. In a 75-0 romp
over the Winnipeg Wolfpack on May 10 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Friesen
scored touchdowns on runs of 46, 62 and 17 yards and hauled in another major on
a 55-yard pass play.
On May
17 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Friesen had a big performance against the host
Riot. Down 16-8, the Valkyries rallied for a 28-19 victory, and Friesen
accounted for the last two Saskatoon touchdowns coming off a 13-yard outlet
pass and a tough eight-yard run.
“She is a very explosive player
and is extremely fast,” said Valkyries head coach Jeff Yausie. “She plays with
an attitude and a bit of a temper, which is a good thing as long as you can
control it. She is a special player in how she runs.”
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| Julene Friesen charges through the line for the Valkyries. |
“The whole game just felt like a
battle, and it was so fun to be in a game rather than feeling so far ahead that
it didn’t even really feel like a competition,” said Friesen, who works as a
teacher in Langham. “I had a lot of fun, but it was definitely challenging.
“By the end in the third and
fourth quarters, I felt so beat up I was running on fumes. It was honestly the
help of my teammates just pulling me through and encouraging me and the coaches
being so encouraging.”
The
Valkyries have won all four WWCFL titles that have been handed out dating back
to 2011, but the Riot have always provided a good test. Saskatoon’s only loss
in franchise history came on May 12, 2013 against the Riot in Regina by a 15-7
score.
The
Valkyries (2-0) and the Riot (1-1) face each other again on Saturday (7 p.m.,
SMF Field).
Friesen
expects to keep playing for the Valkyries in future seasons, but in the
present, she gets pumped up for games against teams like the Riot and is
looking forward to Saturday’s clash.
“It is
going to be unreal,” said Friesen. “I can’t wait to play them at home with our
crowd behind us.
“I hope
everybody is healthy. I know we got pretty banged up last game. I think come
game time we will be ready to go, and we will have so much adrenaline that we
will be fine.”
Boldt shines as Valkyries signal caller
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| Stacey Boldt gets set to unload a throw for the Valkyries. |
A
third-year member of the team, Boldt had big shoes to fill as the starting
signal caller, because she followed in the steps of Candace Bloomquist, who led
Saskatoon to its four straight league titles as the starting quarterback.
My
story on Boldt appears in this week’s edition of the Saskatoon Express, which
can be found by clicking right here.
I
appreciate the fact that editor Cam Hutchinson contacts me to write for the
Express on a fairly regular basis. The staff there is outstanding to work with,
and I recommend that readers check out the rest of the stories and columns in
the weekly Express publication as well.
