BURNABY — Ethan Beselt had long since stopped counting the days since his last football game.All the unflappable Simon Fraser Red Leafs’ receiver knew was that it had been a long, long time.For the record, it was 1,037 days, which within the window of eligibility for an NCAA student-athlete is indeed nothing short of an […]
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For Simon Fraser Red Leafs’ defensive back Gideone Kremler, finding his inner ‘safety’ comes after a pain-stamped journey to the top of Burnaby Mountain!
BURNABY — A framed photo sits on the dresser drawer of his room in the Burquitlam rental he shares with six other housemates, and for Simon Fraser sophomore safety Gideone Kremler, all it takes is a simple daily glance back at his 12-year-old self to understand — despite all of the pain and disappointment — […]
From offence to defence, UBC’s Ryan Baker now the ‘tackle maker’ … Thunderbirds’ linebacker records 13 tackles in opening win! No. 9 ‘Birds at No. 2 Sask Huskies on Friday!
VANCOUVER — Ryan Baker came to UBC four years ago with a football resume seemingly as vast as the geographic dimensions of the school’s sprawling Point Grey campus.Now, five seasons into a gridiron career punctuated by not only the pandemic, but by a switch from one side of the ball to the other, the prowess […]
UBC Football 2022: The ‘Canadianization’ of ‘Birds Texas-born quarterback Garrett Rooker takes flight! Reigning CW Rookie of the Year leads Blue-&-Gold into Saturday opener vs. visiting Alberta!
VANCOUVER — If you’re a fan of B.C. football, I am sure you’ll agree that the summer of 2022 has been blessed by a thick coating of something best described as quarterback karma… the likes of which we have never seen.Of course, you can start with the previously unthinkable: Canadians Nathan Rourke and Michael O’Connor […]
A message from Howard: After 40 years, I’ll bring a new writing direction to Varsity Letters for the 2022-23 high school and university sports season!
NORTH DELTA – Heartfelt greetings to all of you, my loyal, longtime readers.It’s been five months since I decided to take a break from my writing life.As was the goal from the very start, my decision to take sabbatical after 40 years of daily practice — first from my typewriter, and of course later, in […]
The energy of Sophie Klassen: ACL surgery left Simon Fraser forward wondering if she had “…lost what makes me, me,” yet her crash-and-bang DNA impossible to miss!
BURNABY — Ask Sophie Klassen what was worse than the COVID-cancelled 2020-21 university basketball season, and she doesn’t hesitate to answer.“I tore my ACL last season, in September (of 2020), just a couple of weeks into practices,” Simon Fraser’s energetic 6-foot redshirt junior forward begins. “I got surgery in November, and I wasn’t completely sure […]
Simon Fraser forward Gemma Cutler does it by the book, but the 6-foot-2 rookie from North Vancouver also writing her own chapters atop Burnaby Mountain!
BURNABY — When it comes to being a voracious student of the sport of basketball, you could say that Gemma Cutler wrote the book.Or perhaps, in the case of Simon Fraser’s ultra-inquisitive rookie forward, it’s more accurate to say she digested it in its entirety.That’s the idea you get when you ask SFU head coach […]
Our 13th annual edition: Who are B.C.’s Top 15 Grade 12 boys volleyball players? Check out our 2021-22 Dream Team!
LANGLEY — Welcome to the 2021-22 edition of Varsity Letters annual B.C. Boys Top 15, our look at the top Grade 12 players in the province as voted on by our committee representing the five head coaches (UBC, TWU, UFV, UBC Okanagan, Thompson Rivers) of U Sports men’s volleyball programs in our province.A special thanks […]
Kelowna Owls’ Sebastien Manuel: B.C. Boys Volleyball 2021-22 Player of the Year brings a heart-and-soul love for the game to his hometown UBC Okanagan Heat!
KELOWNA — Let Sebastien Manuel tell you a volleyball story and before long you start to realize, from the conviction of his delivery, that he’s actually talking about what matters most to him in life.Is there a way to best describe him?How about the word ‘steeped’ as in “…to be surrounded by or filled with […]
After frigid start, Simon Fraser rallies from 22 points down to stun visiting St. Martin’s! Says point guard David Penney: “Now we know we have another gear we can get to!”
BURNABY — It wasn’t exactly a first half that you would put alongside the most inspiring in the history of Simon Fraser men’s basketball.In fact, it ebbed low enough about four minutes from halftime that the home team was staring a 22-point deficit straight in the eye Wednesday evening at the West Gym against the […]