A trip to Canada's capital rendered gold medals and grins for two Rocky View County-area football players.
Alberta's U18 female tackle football team recently earned their second consecutive national championship on July 29, downing Quebec 52-22 in the gold-medal game in Ottawa.
Two local football players contributed to Alberta's dominant week in Ontario – Amira Harb of Chestermere and Hannah Franssen of Langdon.
Shortly after their return home, the two 16-year-old student-athletes told the Rocky View Weekly their trip east was a whirlwind 10 days that wrapped up in the best way possible.
“The trip was amazing,” Harb said. “I met so many new people and learned a new position. I would definitely do it again because overall, it was amazing.”
While she's previously played as a defensive back or linebacker, Harb said she was moved over to the offence for Team Alberta, playing as either a running back or centre throughout the national tournament. She attributed the position change to her strong showing in these roles during the provincial team tryouts in the spring.
“I learned to snap for the tryouts, so feel I showed them I could do it well,” she said. “And when running the ball, I was good at the hand-offs and catching.
“I thought [offence] was a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be, but I loved it.”
The defending champion from 2022, Alberta showed why it is a powerhouse in girls' tackle football with an unbeaten record at the U18 national championships. Alberta beat Saskatchewan 48-6 and one of two Ontario teams 60-0 in their first two games, propelling them into the final on July 29 at Ottawa's Carleton University stadium.
The championship game against Quebec was a bit closer, but a 30-point victory still showed a gulf in quality between the Albertans and their opponents.
“They were the toughest team we played, but I did know we were going to win,” Harb said.
Franssen, who played as a defensive back, gave kudos to Alberta's coaching staff, arguing they prepared the team well for the national championships.
“All the coaches we worked with have all been coaching for many years in different places, whether it be the CJFL, minor, or just in the cities,” she said. “The coaches were very knowledgeable and helped push our team to make us better.”
Another factor in Alberta's success, according to Franssen, was the fact most of the team's players grew up playing football for male or mixed-gender teams. It wasn't until last year that an all-girls tackle football league for high-school-aged players emerged in the province.
“We always had to play against boys and really show we had the heart and deserved to play with them,” Franssen said. “I think that made a lot of our players stronger.”
Illustrating that fact, both Harb and Franssen played for the Chestermere Lakers last year, and were the only two girls on the high-school football team.
Harb said she intends to suit up for the Lakers again this fall, but Franssen will be swapping allegiances, as she gets set to attend Henry Wisewood High School in Calgary for her Grade 11 year, after being accepted into that school's IB program.
Franssen, who also played minor football for the Chestermere Chiefs for four years, said she intends to keep playing the sport when she attends her new high school in Calgary this September. She has plans of playing for the Warriors' junior team in 2023 and the Tier I senior team in 2024.
Though she also plays and likes basketball, Franssen said football is her preference, citing the sport's strong sense of community and camaraderie.
“People I’ve met in football, even years back, we’re still friends,” she said. “People say the friendships and relationships you make [in football] last, and I really believe that. It’s so cool to come together and play such a violent sport together but still have a good bond and friendships that come from it. It’s all about teamwork and it brings people together.”
