Justin Barney is the latest tight end to join the Edmonton Wildcats
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A former Cold Lake Royal has taken the next step in his football journey, signing a contract with a major club in Edmonton.
Justin Barney of Cold Lake has just signed a contract with the Edmonton Wildcats Football Club, marking his entry into the Prairie Football Conference of the Canadian Junior Football League and putting him into the big leagues. The Wildcats held their camp on May 5-7.
“I’m really excited. This is going to be fun,” said Barney. “I’m really looking to get out there and play hard.”
The offensive lineman, who moonlights as a business student at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology when he isn’t protecting his quarterback, said that he was kicking himself after taking a year off to focus on school.
“I missed the game,” noted Barney. “I wanted to come back and play.”
To prepare for the intense three-day training camp, Barney hit the gym five days a week, combining weight training and cardio.
“Just trying to get back in shape from missing a season,” commented Barney. “High school really kept me there, but when I went to university I kind of got distracted.”
Barney added that he owed a great deal to the Royals coaching staff for their support of his efforts over the years.
“I’m on a workout program from one of the coaches here in Cold Lake,” praised Barney. “They know what they’re talking about here. At Edmonton I never learned anything different from what I was taught out here. I was always right in step with the other guys.”
While he was quite happy to have made the team, Barney noted that by halfway through the Wildcats’ training camp he had a pretty good idea he had made the cut.
“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I had a feeling I would make the team,” expressed Barney. “There was a lot of newer guys coming from high school. I was sort of the same way because I hadn’t played football last year, but it’s good to know I made the team rather than just guessing.”
The Edmonton Wildcats have a long and proud history, dating back to the formation of the Alberta Junior Football League in 1948, though they were called the Edmonton Maple Leafs at the time. By 1952 the team had decided that a name change was in order, and renamed themselves to the Wildcats, which was actually slang for an oil field worker at the time.
The team has won three national finals in its history.
“It’s a really good team. They’ll be fun to play with this year,” said Barney. “Everybody there is so nice, all the coaches and all the other players. I think we got a good group of boys.”
Barney added that now that he’s made the team, the real work begins.
“I’m going to be playing against 20-something-year-olds,” noted Barney. “You can tell the strength difference from high school. In high school being the biggest guy out there wasn’t too bad, but now I’ve got to keep trying my hardest always, because I got to keep up with these guys who have playing the game a lot longer than I have. If you think you can take a break during the off-season, people are going to get stronger and you’re going to get weaker.”
Justin Barney of Cold Lake has just signed a contract with the Edmonton Wildcats Football Club, marking his entry into the Prairie Football Conference of the Canadian Junior Football League and putting him into the big leagues. The Wildcats held their camp on May 5-7.
“I’m really excited. This is going to be fun,” said Barney. “I’m really looking to get out there and play hard.”
The offensive lineman, who moonlights as a business student at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology when he isn’t protecting his quarterback, said that he was kicking himself after taking a year off to focus on school.
“I missed the game,” noted Barney. “I wanted to come back and play.”
To prepare for the intense three-day training camp, Barney hit the gym five days a week, combining weight training and cardio.
“Just trying to get back in shape from missing a season,” commented Barney. “High school really kept me there, but when I went to university I kind of got distracted.”
Barney added that he owed a great deal to the Royals coaching staff for their support of his efforts over the years.
“I’m on a workout program from one of the coaches here in Cold Lake,” praised Barney. “They know what they’re talking about here. At Edmonton I never learned anything different from what I was taught out here. I was always right in step with the other guys.”
While he was quite happy to have made the team, Barney noted that by halfway through the Wildcats’ training camp he had a pretty good idea he had made the cut.
“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I had a feeling I would make the team,” expressed Barney. “There was a lot of newer guys coming from high school. I was sort of the same way because I hadn’t played football last year, but it’s good to know I made the team rather than just guessing.”
The Edmonton Wildcats have a long and proud history, dating back to the formation of the Alberta Junior Football League in 1948, though they were called the Edmonton Maple Leafs at the time. By 1952 the team had decided that a name change was in order, and renamed themselves to the Wildcats, which was actually slang for an oil field worker at the time.
The team has won three national finals in its history.
“It’s a really good team. They’ll be fun to play with this year,” said Barney. “Everybody there is so nice, all the coaches and all the other players. I think we got a good group of boys.”
Barney added that now that he’s made the team, the real work begins.
“I’m going to be playing against 20-something-year-olds,” noted Barney. “You can tell the strength difference from high school. In high school being the biggest guy out there wasn’t too bad, but now I’ve got to keep trying my hardest always, because I got to keep up with these guys who have playing the game a lot longer than I have. If you think you can take a break during the off-season, people are going to get stronger and you’re going to get weaker.”
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