VANCOUVER — Ask any devoted harrier to define their love of cross-country running, and many will tell you that on their best days, it’s an act which takes them back to being a kid at recess, running unbridled through their old school yard.Last Saturday, at the age of 22, UBC Thunderbirds’ senior Nicola Symonds had […]
Tag: UBC Thunderbirds
Thunderbird Stadium was a ‘Land of Opportunity’ for youthful UBC football in 2019, Saturday loss in Calgary turns page on next chapter
In his 20-plus seasons as a U Sports head football coach, Blake Nill has made a habit of his coaching his teams into national-title contention.When exactly the opposite happens to the degree with which it did this season, it’s no wonder that the UBC Thunderbirds’ veteran football boss was having a tough time coming to […]
UBC women’s soccer: On the road and in the shadows, these 2019 Thunderbirds seem built for U Sports’ second season
VANCOUVER — The UBC Thunderbirds have won the second most U Sports titles this century and are one of those programs which annually finds itself in the conversation when the talk turns to who will hoist the Gladys Bean memorial trophy, emblematic of Canadian women’s university soccer supremacy.
A SUNDAY READ: Why UBC football’s upset stunner over No. 3 Saskatchewan has ‘Birds coach Nill convinced it’s deja vu, all over again
VANCOUVER — Blake Nill didn’t hesitate for a second. When placekicker Garrin McDonnell booted his fifth field goal of the day, an 11-yarder with just 31 seconds to play to lift the underdog UBC to a most improbable 38-37 win over a Saskatchewan Huskies’ team ranked No. 3 in the nation, the grizzled Thunderbirds’ head coach […]
Kaishaun Carter: “…I pride myself on my football IQ” says St. Thomas More’s senior blue-chip defensive end
BURNABY — Last month, as the St. Thomas More Knights set off to Mission for what would eventually be a hard-fought 18-6 win over the host Roadrunners, STM head coach Steve De Lazzari sent a text to his defensive coordinator Jared Power about one of the team’s influential seniors.“Coach Power was going to be away […]
UBC football impresses with season’s first victory, yet despite win in Regina, Thunderbirds eliminated from Canada West playoffs
Its Canada West football playoff hopes may have evaporated with just two more conference games remaining, yet the UBC Thunderbirds discovered they still had enough heroic karma left in the tank of a frustrating season to pick up their first victory of 2019.“We tried our best to give it to them,” ‘Birds head coach Blake Nill […]
UBC football: After late collapse to Alberta, what’s most key for 0-5 ‘Birds over final three games? Forging a team identity for 2020
VANCOUVER — Over the window of their academic careers on the Point Grey campus, forestry students at UBC can put in the long hours required towards earning a Masters degree in the sustainable management of one of our province’s great natural resources.Over at Thunderbird Stadium, however, a whole other group of UBC students are attempting […]
Cascades are better with Bryana Buttar in the batter! Rookie a rare ingredient as UFV hunkers for huge weekend homestand vs. UBC, UVic
ABBOTSFORD — With the same clockwork precision she has shown at every key stage of her soccer career, Bryana Buttar has once again arrived ahead of her time.“I definitely feel that my whole youth career has set me up for this,” the Fraser Valley Cascades’ dynamic midfielder remarked Wednesday of the opportunity she has seized […]
UBC Football: ‘Birds hit midway mark of Canada West season plagued by giveaways, penalties in 37-19 loss at Manitoba
The UBC Thunderbirds spent the week leading up to Saturday afternoon’s key Canada West clash in Winnipeg against the Manitoba Bisons building the good vibes they hoped would bring about a sharp turn in their road as the 2019 Canada West season reached its midway mark.Instead, a fumbled hand-off on its first series, a surrendered […]
Varsity Letters PODCAST welcomes a football coaching trio: SFU’s Thomas Ford, UBC’s Taylor Nill, Langley’s Ryk Piche
Welcome back to Varsity Letters — The Podcast! You’ll find an embedded player below to listen to this week’s episode! As mid-September hits, footballs are in the air everywhere, including the respective home bases of our three gridiron guests this week. Off theta, Simon Fraser head coach Thomas Ford takes us from fall camp through […]