By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
The Winnipeg Wolfpack, one of two Manitoba-based teams in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League (WWCFL) are reloading this year with first-year head coach Aaron Taylor.
A former Winnipeg High School Football League (WHSFL) champ as a defensive back with the Kelvin Clippers, he brings close to two decades of coaching experience with him, ranging all the way from the U16 provincial team to the junior football ranks with the Winnipeg Rifles.
One of Taylor’s biggest strengths as a head coach is his ability to build trust within a group in a short amount of time, as evidenced by his 2015 East Side Eagles squad that went on an undefeated run to the Manitoba Major Junior Football League (MMJFL) championship in his first season as bench boss.
That skill has already been on full display in the lead-up to Winnipeg’s first regular season game this Saturday against the Saskatoon Valkyries at 1 p.m. on the road.
The team played well in a controlled scrimmage against the Manitoba Fearless last week and are benefiting from the guidance of not only Taylor but also the assortment of well-respected coaches on his staff such as West Kildonan head coach Russell Wallace, Churchill lead man Kirkland Harper and Mike Benson, a graduate of St. Paul’s High School who plays for the BC Lions and is also the owner of local training facility ProPlayerU.
“The players have completely bought in now,” Taylor says.
“At first they were like ‘who’s this guy,’ but after every week we’re starting to see more players say ‘oh my God I’ve never learned this much in a season.’ They’re starting to see where the coaching level is at and they’re starting to raise their play to it.”
Arguably more important though, is the bond that the teammates have began to form with each other on a roster that includes a decent number of first-year players.
“They’re doing things off the field together and that’s the biggest thing,” Taylor noted.
“At the start of the season it was like ‘should we hang out or what should we do?’ Now we’ve got girls going ‘Tuesday night for wings, who’s coming?’ It’s coming together really fast.”
The Wolfpack’s offence is led by quarterback Rebecka Clark, who has experience at the position, but has never had a true quarterback coach, according to Taylor. She’s coming along quickly and is about as tough as they come due in part to her hockey background. Naturally, she’s demonstrated key leadership qualities all through training camp as well.
“She’s building a lot of trust with the players. She’s there every single night,” says Taylor. “The other night she had the flu but she still showed up and she was just standing there watching reps. She’s a huge team player.”
One of the players aiding her in the backfield is rookie Brittany Swanson, an athletic therapist and former track and field runner whose speed was on full display at the scrimmage, including a few massive runs.
She’s completely bought in,” Taylor says.
“She hosted a party at her house for the offence to talk about the playbook. And they’re outside with garbage cans running through plays. The sky’s the ceiling for her. She’s built with speed. When you can get her into space, it’ll change a lot of things.”
The defence is loaded with a number first-year players who Taylor added are “straight athletes.” But there’s a key veteran presence on the defensive line in former Team Canada members Breanne Ward and Mubo Ilelaboye. The latter of those two — a former basketball star — is who Taylor would pick as the team’s captain.
““She’s a super athlete. She understands the game. She’s a huge motivator and leader on our team. She’s in everybody’s ear encouraging them. There’s only positivity coming out of her. And she works her butt off.”
Your first chance to catch both local WWCFL teams live will be May 12 at East Side Eagles field at 11 a.m. as they battle for early season bragging rights.