Young football star leads by example

Brian Courchene is a 13-year-old Grade 8 student at St. John’s High School.

“My favourite subjects are social studies and gym. The reason is because I like history and geography – it’s something that clicked for me ever since I was around eight or nine years old,” he says.

“With gym, well, I like sports. I like competition. I’m a very competitive kid. The love of competing, it’s just in me,” he explains.

Brian really, really enjoys playing sports.

“I play football, basketball, soccer, and I’m trying to play volleyball for my school this year,” he says.

“The sport I’m most focused on is football. Football is the first (organized) sport I played. It’s a sport where you have a real brotherly connection with your teammates and it is adrenaline-packed.

Like many young players who show natural ability and aggression, Brian plays both offence and defence for the North Winnipeg Nomads, but he does have a preference.

“I play O-line, D-line, and linebacker. I enjoy playing defence more, because I can tackle people and it’s just fun to play,” he says.

Brian speaks very highly of his coaches and his teammates.

“I’ve had amazing coaches – ever since I started playing my coaches have been great. I think it is very important to be coachable as a player. I try to make sure I am that for my coaches. I have played with a lot of top -nd talent with my teammates. My teammates have been really good players. I like to lead by example and I try to be a good leader for our team,” he says.

Brian lives in Winnipeg’s North End with Cheryl, whom he calls mom, and three of his siblings.

“I call her mom because I’ve been with her my whole life. I also live with two of my sisters, Jayden and Stephanie, and my brother RandalI. I have an additional six siblings I’m not living with right now. Their names are Wapi, Ozzie, Amy, Daniel, Murry, and Zaagiidawin. I also have three older siblings I haven’t met,” he says.

“If I were to give a shout-out to one of my parents, it would be my dad. He passed away in 2022. He was a good man, even though I never saw him much, it still hurt that he died. I cried like anyone would. I play these games and these sports for him.”

Brian’s goal is to play all the sports he loves at the highest possible level and to one day be drafted in the CFL or the NFL. He has this advice for other athletes:

“Stay focused. Work hard no matter what. Also, do your best to eat healthy, have a balanced diet, and drink enough water for your practices and games.”