Stettler Wildcat player Jordan Lane has been a skillful quarterback on field and is now all set to be a part of the Alberta U18 football camp as he prepares for his final tryout in May.
"I feel confident in my abilities, at the first tryout I feel that I shook off the nerves and took a leadership role, which is what I need to do as a quarterback," said Lane. "I have been going to the gym more often, always going before school, I have also been pushing myself harder at the gym and play other sports to be in shape and learn how to deal with adversity."
According to Lane, his dream is to play at the University of Alberta as a Golden Bear.
"I've also been working with the Edmonton Huskies and am looking to follow in the footsteps of former Stettler Wildcat Theren Churchill," said Lane.
It was Lane's dad who first got him interested in the sport by signing him up for the peewee football and he has been hooked ever since his first practice.
"After peewee, it was a progression into bantam when I made the zone 4 summer games and there I met Chris Awk who helped me to learn basics like reading a defence, and then came Shock, where I met Don Loov and that's when I really excelled at the position," added Lane. "At Shock I learnt how to play at the high school level, and Loov taught me how to read a defence and what gaps to attack, letting me call plays on the line and use audibles."
Lane attributes his leadership skills to Wildcat head coach Norbert Baharally.
"Mr. Baharally taught me how to be a leader and enabled me to be a strong leader and lead the Wildcats to multiple double digit wins," said Lane. "I have become more focused on the little things in the game that make all the difference, like my foot work, making faster decisions, and my mechanics."
Lane said that after practice, teammate Alex Leblanc and he would stay back to run routes and push each other to be better.
"I have also been more focused on watching film and identifying a team's tendencies and how to exploit them to win," said Lane. "I have become more competitive and though most people like to win, I hate to lose."