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| Reed Thorstad (#12) is a heart and soul member of the Valkyries. |
Her father, Brian Thorstad, has coached football at various levels in the city of Saskatoon and in the province of Saskatchewan for decades. Reed carved out her main identity in the sport as a veteran receiver and backup quarterback for the Saskatoon Valkyries having joined Western Women’s Canadian Football League powerhouse squad back in 2015.
When she was growing up, Reed said her father wanted her to enjoy playing sports, and it didn’t matter what those sports were. Whatever sport Reed tried, Brian was supportive and often took on the role of coach.
“He’s coached me in lots of different sports,” said Reed, whose Valkyries blanked the Wolfpack in Winnipeg 59-0 on Sunday to improve to 2-0 in WWCFL regular season play. “He coached me in hockey, football and basketball when I was young.
“I think (he instilled) just like the general love of sports. We’d be playing catch in the backyard and going to the park and all kinds of things. Sometimes, I still make him do that with me.”
Reed said she initially got into playing football through the encouragement of friends.
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| Reed Thorstad (#12) is a dependable receiver for the Valkyries. |
“They were getting a team going. My dad coached me a lot growing up, and there is a good crew of us in Saskatoon that have played for a long time together, and I just always loved it. It was one of my favourite sports.”
Through her high school years at Walter Murray Collegiate, Reed continued to play all sorts of sports. At that time, she started going to a number of flag football nationals with Team Saskatchewan. From there, Reed was introduced to the idea of joining the Valkyries.
“Coming out of high school, it was actually Marci Halseth that convinced me to come play Valkyries,” said Reed. “I think just my love of football has just like grown from there.
“I love the complexity of the game for sure.”
A year after graduating from Walter Murray, Reed joined a Valkyries team that was stocked with veteran players, and a number of those players were with squad since it first hit the field in 2011. Halseth, who was a star receiver at that time and is now a receivers coach, was one of those veteran players who had been with the Valkyries from their inception.
The composition of the team started to change shortly afterwards. In Thorstad’s second season, the Valkyries roster was basically a 50-50 split of veterans and newcomers, who were in their first or second year with the team.
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| Reed Thorstad helped the Valkyries win WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019. |
In 2017, Thorstad played receiver more and backed up at quarterback with Eyolfson taking the starting role. A few more long time veterans left the Valkyries following the 2016 campaign.
While there were still veterans that had been with the Valkyries since the team’s first season and two are still currently with the team in defensive lineman Jaime Lammerding and linebacker Beth Lalonde, players like Thorstad and Eyolfson found themselves taking on a bigger role in the leadership department.
“I think there was some kind of feeling out of like who was going to step into those leadership roles,” said Thorstad. “I think something that came from that is that we have like so many different leaders on the team now and have for the last few years.
“I think the leadership is spread out between almost everyone on the team that has been around for a year or two at least has stepped into be a leader at certain points in time. I think it is really neat that we have like so many people that can do that.”
Thorstad’s most memorable moment with the Valkyries was when the team won a sixth WWCFL championship in 2019. During that campaign, the Valkyries were rocked when defensive position coach Justin Filteau died in a plane crash on June 1 of that year.
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| Reed Thorstad can play QB at an elite level. |
“Probably my favourite moment was in 2019 when we won the championship, and it really felt like that whole season was for Filteau after he passed away,” said Thorstad. “I feel so proud of how our team came together that season and just like the dynamic that we had in supporting each other and fighting for that championship despite the challenges that came.
“That is something that I feel really proud to be a part of, and I feel really lucky to be a part of the team. Those relationships and that team dynamic that was built that season has really continued. I still feel that on this team this year too, so that is really exciting.”
Valkyries head coach Pat Barry said Thorstad’s presence on the Valkyries has been valuable in so many ways.
“She is like having an extra coach on the field,” said Barry. “I can say that, because I brought her in to coach with me in high school at Evan Hardy.
“She has a fantastic offensive mind. I’m just so pleased to have her around and continue to be a part of this team. She is a big part of what we do.
“When we need someone to come in and fill a position whether it is offence or special teams, Reed can fill that.”
On top of playing for the Valkyries, Thorstad found herself following in her father’s footsteps taking a more active role in coaching the sport. Along with being an assistant coach at Evan Hardy, Thorstad coaches flag football in the Rush female flag league overseen by Saskatoon Minor Football.
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| Reed Thorstad enjoyed coaching at the Playground to Pros camp. |
“I think that every single sport that I’ve played I’ve really loved thinking about the strategy,” said Thorstad, who is a teacher at City Park School. “I love getting my brain going on that kind of stuff.
“I started coaching when I was in high school, and I have two younger sisters. I feel like that kind of made it easy to help out with their teams. I’m also a teacher, so I feel like it kind of comes with the territory with that too.
“I do really love coaching both flag, and I’d love to get into coaching tackle more. The Playground to Pros camp was really fun, and then I was coaching senior football at Hardy. I want to keep getting involved with tackle football and coaching as well.”
While she is getting more into coaching, Thorstad is still getting better as a player on the field. She turned a lot of heads at the training camp that Football Canada held in Ottawa, Ont., to evaluate players for its Senior National Women’s Team.
In the Red-White game that closed that camp, Thorstad was named MVP for Team White playing quarterback. Playing the first half in Team White’s 30-16 victory, Thorstad completed 14-of-19 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
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| Reed Thorstad is pictured with the Playground to Pros camp coaches. |
Besides potentially making the Senior National Women’s Team, Thorstad wants to help the Valkyries win another WWCFL title this season. The Valkyries resume their regular season on Saturday, May 28, when they host their provincial rivals the Regina Riot at 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.
Looking into the future, Thorstad expects to keep playing
the sport for some time to come.
“I’m 26 right now,” said Thorstad. “I feel like I want to be around for a few more years.
“I feel like I still have lots to learn. I think that probably like the plan one day whenever I decide that I’m done is I’d love to help coach the Valkyries or coach women’s football in some way. I think I’ll be playing for another couple few years.
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| Reed Thorstad plans to keep playing football for a few more years. |
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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