Lucas Punkari
For 15-year-old Braden Webb, there is no other sport he would rather play than football.
The soon-to-be Grade 10 student is getting ready to begin his second campaign for the Muskies, who officially kicked off their season with a practice Monday evening in preparation of their WHSFL home-opener Sept. 9 against St. Norbert, with Webb again suiting up in his now familiar role of cornerback.
“Last year the coaches just saw me in practice and I just ended up playing in that position,” Webb explained.
“I really enjoy playing that position because you get to read the play on defence, plus you get to fly around and hit guys,” he added.
Following his rookie season with the Muskies, in which he felt both he and the team made a number of improvements, Webb had a chance during the off-season to try out for the Winnipeg East team at the U16 Red River Cup, which took place in Brandon in July.
“At the beginning, they [the Red River Cup organizers] sent out mail to everyone in the [WHSFL],” he noted. “And because I thought I had a decent year last year, and my coach wanted me to play, I decided to go there.”
The tryout began with a series of six three-hour practices that took place at the Golf Dome in Winnipeg during weekends in March and April, which saw 300 players involved.
“They had guys from both Winnipeg East and West out there, so it was very hectic and fast-paced, but it was also pretty fun,” Webb enthused.
“After that last practice, the coach for the team phoned me as I was driving home from Winnipeg to let me know that I made the cut to play in the Blue-Gold game.
“And while that was pretty cool to get that call, it wasn’t that big to me because that was just the second step,” he reasoned.
Webb returned to Winnipeg during the first week of May to take part in practice sessions before the Blue & Gold game on Saturday, May 7, which was held at Canad Inns Stadium, home of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“I had played there before with the Muskies, but it was really cool to play there again because of the fact that you see it all the time on television and because it’s so big,” Webb remarked.
With his team unable to come away with the win, Webb didn’t think he stood a chance to make the final Winnipeg East roster. But he soon discovered he had made the final cut of 36 players.
“I was thinking that I wasn’t going to make the team, so when I found out that I did, I was really excited,” he recalled.
“It was kind of a surreal feeling for me.
“I didn’t really do much in the game itself, so I think it was just from how I was playing throughout the week of practices that really helped me to make the team,” he noted.
After arriving in Brandon for a week of practice sessions on Monday, July 18, Webb and the rest of the Winnipeg East squad took part in four round-robin games, compiling a 3-0-1 record thanks to wins over Brandon, Winnipeg West, and Thunder Bay along with a tie against Nova Scotia.
“The games were all really quick as they were 25-minute halves,” Webb said.
“They were some really cool games to play in, though, and it was cool to see all of the guys from elsewhere, especially from Nova Scotia as there were a lot of big guys from there.”
With their record in the round-robin, Winnipeg East earned a berth in the final on Sunday, July 31, which saw them beat Winnipeg West 28-21 to capture the Red River Cup.
“It didn’t really sink in how important the tournament was, and the fact [we] were able to win it, until later that night,” Webb admitted.
“I had to switch spots during the game because of an injury, so it was really hectic out there at times, but it was awesome when the final buzzer went off and we won the game,” he smiled.
Webb, who made a total of 2.5 tackles during the tournament, had played and practised as a safety for most of the week. But he was sprung into a defensive halfback role during the final after his one of his teammates had to leave the game due to an injury.
“One of our starting DB’s, who was also one of our best players, went out of the game so I moved to halfback and we also had to bring in our back-up safety,” he explained.
“I had very limited reps at halfback in practice, so it was really awkward for me to play that role, but I felt overall I played really good at times as I didn’t make any major mistakes and was able to knock a few passes down,” he added.
As the start of the 2011 Muskie campaign draws closer, Webb feels his experience at the Red River Cup not only will help him but the entire black-and-gold going forward.
“I got to learn a bunch of new game plans, and the way that the Winnipeg teams like to use their formations, so I think that will help me out a lot,” he reasoned.
“Plus, I think my showing there might help to get a few more guys to come out and play with the Muskies because they can see that you can get an opportunity in football and can go somewhere with it.”
Going into his sophomore season, Webb, who stands 5’7” and weighs 140 pounds, is setting his goals high for not only himself but his team.
“Team-wise, I think we are looking really good with a lot of guys that are returning, and I would like to get a winning season out of that,” he stressed.
“Personally, I would just like to contribute more in everything on defence, whether it be in tackling, stopping the run, and things like that,” added Webb, who would like to continue playing football following high school in either the CIS or U.S. college ranks.
