INNISFAIL – Lillian Watkinson is going to Canada's capital next month for a glorious return to national football championship action.
The 16-year-old Innisfailian will be a key part of Team Alberta’s defence to defend its gold medal the squad earned at the inaugural Women’s Under-18 Football Championship last July in Regina’s Mosaic Stadium.
“I feel very confident in my speed this year. I've been going to the gym since last season and I think my legs are stronger,” said Watkinson, a Grade 11 student at Red Deer’s École Secondaire Notre Dame High School, who was just five-foot tall and weighing 100 pounds when she went to Regina last year for the national championship.
“I've stayed pretty much the same since last year,” she said. “I think my speed is the only thing that's given me an advantage this year.”
Watkinson was selected to Team Alberta following Edmonton and Calgary tryouts in April and a final selection process on June 3 and 4 in Calgary.
The final team roster of 22 players for Team Alberta was announced by Football Alberta on June 11 and Watkinson’s name was on the list to play in the national championship tourney in Ottawa from July 21 to 29. She is the only regional female player between Calgary to Ponoka to make the team.
Since last year’s national championship win, Watkinson has been a bonafide star on the field.
In fact, the teen gridiron linebacker’s play is now turning heads for three teams – Team Alberta, the Notre Dame Cougars high school football team and the Central Alberta Fire squad in the new four-team U18 Female Football League.
Watkinson, who is the Fire’s team caption, is one of four Innisfail females playing for the new gridiron squad; all alumni from the Innisfail Cyclones football program.
The other three are Caydence Rawlins, Kate Haldorson, and Watkinson’s sister Grace, who is two years younger and a running back in her first year of football.
“I have really progressed since last season and I'm super excited to see how this new season plays out,” said Lillian, who will also continue to play for the Notre Dame Cougars this coming fall in her final year in high school. “I feel playing for the Central Alberta Fire in the off-season has really helped me stay in shape and get prepared for this coming season in the summer.”
With her 2022-23 Grade 11 schooling winding down Lillian’s gridiron life is now in overdrive.
Her Fire squad in the new U18 Female Football League went through its inaugural regular season undefeated with a record of three wins and no losses.
On June 18, the Fire played played Okotoks’ Foothills Eagles in the U18 league semifinals and won 66-0.
The Fire went on to play the Calgary Wildcats in the league's first regular season championship game on June 25. The championship game was a thriller with the Fire leading 14-12 at the half but Calgary rallied in the second half to win 31-20.
Dallas Haldorson, a longtime coach and mentor from the Innisfail Cyclones football program, is a coach for the Central Alberta Fire, and is proud of his team.
“We feel really good about our chances; just an exciting team to be part of,” said Haldorson, adding Lillian is the “anchor” of the Fire’s defence. “In the last game we played she made almost a third of the tackles during the game. She keeps us in the game making those key tackles.
“She's really aggressive and is just really good at making that perfect tackle, and knows how to use her speed and positioning,” added Haldorson. "There are players that are a lot bigger than her so she just knows how to use that perfect form to make the tackle.”
And Lillian continues to fine-tune all these enviable gridiron skills for both the Fire and Team Alberta’s quest to hold on to its national title.
“'ll be working out and training leading up until July, and then we have a little mini-camp right before we head out,” said Lillian. “And then we'll be off to Ottawa.”
