John Paul II defensive lineman makes Team Sask U16 football squad

The defensive end said that he believes his leadership is the most important part of his game.

“Being able to help others when they need to, lead my teammates on, encourage others when I need.”

Crusaders football head coach and Battlefords Minor Football (BMF) president Kevin Pinno described Snyder’s motor and coachability as his best traits.

“He never takes a rep off,” said Snyder.

“He’s always working his butt off every single chance he gets. He loves competition, and you can see it. He always shows up mentally and physically, which is awesome to see.”

Pinno, who also teaches at John Paul II, mentioned that on the field and in the classroom, Snyder is always trying to get better and takes feedback to improve when he can.

“I honestly think that just leaves every single door open because if you’re willing to improve at anything in life, you can be great at anything that you want to choose,” said Pinno.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s school, football, work, whatever he decides to do once he reaches Grade 12, when you have that mentality of I can get better and I’m willing to take feedback to get better, you have every chance in the world.”

While the goal is to win, Snyder is looking forward to playing against elevated competition and learning from different perspectives.

“Some people may do things this way, some may do it another way. Just learn overall how I can counter things, what I can adjust, how I am as a player, how I deal under that giant amount of pressure.”

While it is a pressure-packed environment, Snyder does know some teammates from Sask Select, so he won’t be going into it completely alone.

“It feels good to always have a shoulder I can lean on. There’s always someone there I could go to if I need, if it’s not my coaches. I tried out last year, unfortunately, I didn’t make it, but this year I did, so I know the coaches decently.”

Snyder making the team comes after Brandyn Schmunk and Reed Johnson made the U18 squad, and Pinno said it’s great to see the school and BMF getting national recognition on the gridiron.

“It’s awesome to see these athletes that I’ve coached in the past starting to see success. We love it, and we love that Desmond here is going to be representing John Paul II on a national level. It’s really exciting for our school.”

Snyder will be in Winnipeg from July 11-20, representing not only Saskatchewan, but North Battleford and John Paul II Collegiate on a national level.

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com

by Ryan Lambert

John Paul II defensive lineman makes Team Sask U16 football squad

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