A Cold Lake Fighter Jets player is making a name for himself in the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL).
Slotback Brennan Ciona is making his debut this season with the Edmonton Huskies of the CJFL, an national amateur football league consisting of 18 teams in five provinces.
“It’s been great,” he exclaimed. “It’s a different style of football, but other than that, it’s pretty good. The coaches are great, and the players are great to be around.”
With nine years of playing under his belt, the 20-year-old hit the field with the Fighter Jets in their first season this summer.
“It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great group of guys and we just went loose. We wanted to win the championship for the city and the Lakeland community. We just wanted to give something back to them for helping us with our first season,” he said.
At the end of the season, Fighter Jets president Damen Schaub was approached by the coach of the Huskies, who asked if anyone would be a good fit. Schaub immediately thought of Ciona, and set the wheels into motion.
“He was an impact player for us all season… and the kid’s pretty passionate about the game. I feel like he would have made the roster right out of high school,” Schaub noted.
Once he started talking with the Huskies, the whole process moved quickly for Ciona. He enrolled at Concordia University in the business program, and started training along with his new teammates.
“I’ve been told that I could play at a higher level, but I just never thought it would happen this fast. The opportunity came about, and I have to take advantage of every opportunity that I get,” Ciona said.
Ciona believes his recruitment is due, in large part, to the successful season the Fighter Jets had.
“There was a lot of attention on us as players, and I think other teams noticed that as well. I have a feeling that the Fighter Jets helped me out a lot, and I want to say thanks for a good season and thank them for everything that they’ve done for me. I hope to get back this summer, and the revenge tour 2020 is coming for us to get that national championship.”
Schaub said, “We had some expectations for him, and he out did them. We’re very happy for him to carry on playing at a higher level, and hopefully he’s back with us next year.”
With Ciona’s ties to Cold Lake, Schaub noted it proves the city has talented football players.
“It’s going to open some eyes for younger kids coming out of high school that might want to take a different route to get to the junior level.”
Ciona offered some words of wisdom for players looking to get to the next level of football.
“Football is eight hours a day. We have scrum work, school work, and then you go right back to the football field. You just keep working, and your dreams will come true like mine did.”
