Northwestern Ontario's new Indigenous football team heads to Winnipeg

CBC News

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Ashton Storm Parr is hoping northwestern Ontario's caller Indigenous tackle shot squad volition bring immoderate caller Indigenous players to the sport.

The northwestern Ontario squad — which is made up of players from Thunder Bay and the region — is competing successful the U18 Indigenous Cup successful Winnipeg this week.

The 17-year-old Parr, who is from Whitesand First Nation and plays linebacker with the team, said there's "not a full batch of Indigenous players successful Thunder Bay and the surrounding area."

"I'm precise hopeful this volition really get immoderate much Indigenous players retired present to play," helium said. "It's benignant of bittersweet due to the fact that they're limited."

"Back home, wherever they're from, similar up northbound and worldly similar that, they're constricted to their sports. Really it's much hockey, hoops and volleyball," helium said. But helium added that, "getting retired present connected the tract truly would beryllium immense for immoderate of them."

The squad is disconnected to Winnipeg for this year's Indigenous Cup, with their archetypal crippled successful the nine-aside tourney being played connected Thursday.

"I thought it was benignant of weird," caput manager Jonah Siciliano said of the format. "But erstwhile you find retired the tract shrinks down a small bit, and you don't truly announcement it excessively much, and it helps erstwhile you cognize you don't got arsenic galore guys arsenic a mean shot team."

"It helps depth-wise, and keeping everybody connected the tract getting playing time."

Speaking astatine a signifier astatine Thunder Bay's Hammarskjold High School past week, Siciliano said the squad was coming unneurotic well.

"We're intense," helium said."We've got some dogs connected this team."

"They're acceptable to fight," Siciliano said. "I similar the tone we have, the mentality. It seems similar everybody's getting that brotherhood feeling together. It seems similar everybody's truly enjoying playing unneurotic close now, truthful I'm excited."

15-year-old slot receiver Clark Matson, who's from Thunder Bay, said helium liked the team's chances successful Winnipeg.

"I deliberation we person beauteous bully chance," helium said. "I watched immoderate crippled movie connected the different teams and they don't look excessively overmuch amended than us. So I deliberation we bash person a accidental successful this tournament."

Northwestern Ontario, helium said, was focused connected learning the playbook, and making definite everyone was fitting in.

"I deliberation it's going beauteous good," helium said. "We made rather a spot of advancement these past mates of days."

Parr agreed that the squad was shaping up nicely.

"I deliberation that we person a truly bully radical of guys," helium said. "I consciousness similar these guys tin ... tin really execute stuff, particularly connected defence. The defence is shaping up truly well, and it's forming unneurotic precise well."

The 23-year-old Siciliano — who played for Canada's U16 shot squad and spent 4 years successful the Canadian Junior Football League — said determination was rather a learning curve stepping into the coaching job.

"Playing for truthful galore years, I ever thought it was gonna beryllium casual to conscionable hop into coaching close away," helium said. "But it's had its challenges."

"But this team, it's truly casual erstwhile you got a truly bully radical of kids who are truly precise coachable."

The 2025 U18 Indigenous Cup gets underway Thursday.

Northwestern Ontario plays Alberta astatine 3:30 p.m. CDT, portion Manitoba plays Saskatchewan astatine 7:30 p.m.

The 3rd spot crippled is scheduled for Sunday astatine 10 a.m., and the archetypal spot crippled volition instrumentality spot Sunday astatine 1:30 p.m.

All games are being played astatine Winnipeg's St. Vital Mustangs Field.