Blue Bombers players lead football drills with kids in northern Manitoba

Members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visited northern Manitoba communities to share their love of football with local kids – and get them active.

Blue Bombers players Willie Jefferson and Nic Demski were in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (Nelson House) Tuesday where they met and encouraged children in First Nations communities to give football a try.

“We were there to simply have fun and to get them moving and get them active,” said Jefferson, a Bombers defensive lineman.

It was all part of the Bombers TryFootball initiative, which aims to give young people the opportunity to play the sport.

Jefferson and Demski coordinated football drills and various sporting activities for children in the community.

“Just to go up there and to see the kids and to see what they do know and to see they are athletic,” said Jefferson. “Some of those kids are very athletic, they just need some type of guidance and practice.”

Players visited Shamattawa First Nation in northeastern Manitoba before travelling to Nelson House.

WATCH: Nick Hallett leads football drills in northern Manitoba (Credit: Winnipeg Blue Bombers)

Jefferson says there is a lack of equipment in these communities that is creating a barrier.

“A lot of those kids know what football is, but don’t know how to play it,” said the three-time Grey Cup champion. “They know what basketball is, but don’t know some of the skills to play basketball fully.”

There are 182 communities in Canada that are considered remote, with a vast majority of these communities being isolated and only accessible by air for most of the year. Manitoba has 21 remote communities.

Carriera Lamoureux from the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council says it’s extremely important to provide camps and activities for young children living in these communities.

“It’s not about handing a child a football, or a basketball and saying go do that thing and be excellent at it,” said Lamoureux, the group’s director of special projects. “It’s about what sport provides, which is community, connection, opportunity, an increase in self-esteem and self-confidence, and those are the things we want when we bring sport and recreation to communities or to youth in general.

“We don’t want one singular football program, or one singular volleyball or basketball or snowshoeing program, we want to create a lasting impact and a lasting change.”

Winnipeg will be hosting the 112th Grey Cup in 2025 for the fifth time.

Jefferson says it’s important to include all Manitobans in that celebration, and initiatives like this, he says, are the way to do that.

“We are here for them, just like they are here for us, and I had a great time,” he said.