Emmarae Dale practises with the Hilltops on Thursday. |
The Hilltops announced Tuesday morning Dale has officially been added to their roster. Since that time, the social media posts the club put out about the announcement have gone viral.
At the time this post went live, the Hilltops post on Dale’s announcement on Facebook has drawn 944 reactions and has been shared 726 times. The Twitter post has been retweeted 504 times and like over 1,700 times.
The Instagram post has been liked over 1,100 times.
The subsequent posts others have created about Dale being added to the Hilltops roster have attracted countless likes and shares. The Western Woman’s Canadian Football League powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries, who Dale played for from 2016 to 2019, have seen their congratulatory Facebook post draw 266 reactions and be shared 167 times.
Emmarae Dale is the first female to make the Hilltops roster. |
One thing that shouldn’t be lost amongst all the media attention is Dale deserves this opportunity.
The Hilltops have won 22 CJFL championships in their history and the last six CJFL titles in a row. This isn’t an organization that needs to do a publicity stunt like this.
Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, who is the all-time leader in amateur post-secondary wins in Canada, and defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie aren’t the type of people who will put players on the team as a novelty.
They put players on the team they believe will be able to play and contribute in games.
Emmarae Dale has done a tonne of media interviews this week. |
Dale is a very mature young woman at the age of 22. She is an elite athlete with special gifts in the speed, power and strength departments.
On top of her natural athletic abilities, Dale is an experienced football player. She hit the field for four seasons as a middle linebacker with the Saskatoon Valkyries from 2016 to 2019 helping them win WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019.
Yausie was the Valkyries head coach in Dale’s first year with the team and defensive coordinator in Dale’s second year with that squad. As a result, Yausie has a strong idea of what Dale can do as a player.
Emmarae Dale (#45) makes a tackle for the Valkyries in 2016. |
She has been a dominate player in the WWCFL since stepping on the field as a rookie. Dale is a fireplug standing at 5-foot-6, and she can flat out fly to the ball.
She has a natural instinct to know where the ball is going on the football field, and her ability to read plays is second to none.
Even with the handful of workouts she has had with the Hilltops veterans, Dale has shown the ability to understand and breakdown plays, when the Hilltops have done non-contact offense versus defence sets.
Dale’s football knowledge is aided by the fact two of her older brothers in Anthony and Donovan played for the Hilltops in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Anthony played on the offensive line, while Donovan suited up on the defensive line.
Emmarae Dale (#45) makes a hit in 2019 for the Valkyries. |
That adds to showing the well-roundedness of her athletic ability.
On top of her athletic abilities, Dale has other intangibles that make her a good fit for the Hilltops. She has worked out at Ignite Athletics for a number of years, and most of the Hilltops players do their off-season training there.
She already knows a large number of players on the team, and they have seen firsthand how hard she works to get herself in the best shape possible. A respect tangible already exists.
Emmarae Dale (#45) tracks down a QB in 2019. |
She approaches life in a mature and good confident way and is very well spoken. Those traits have shown through in the various media interviews she has done over the past week.
Dale has the make up to handle the spotlight and the extra attention that will come her way in the right way.
The best part is the news of her making the Hilltops roster has been warmly received seemingly everywhere. Over social media, you will still find a couple of crank negative comments, which you have to expect will surface in today’s world, but those types of comments have been few and far between.
Thanks to the CJFL ruling that players who were supposed to be 22-years-old this year will be able to play at age 23 next year, Dale will have one season to enjoy her time as member of the Hilltops assuming the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic stops throwing wrenches into how the world operates.
Emmarae Dale and the Valkyries enjoy their 2019 WWCFL title win. |
If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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