Photo courtesy of Jody Bailey

One of the bright spots on a very young Edmonton Wildcats team the past season was rookie offensive lineman Mike Rea.

Living and attending high school in Edmonton, the decision where to play junior football isn’t an easy one with both the Wildcats and Huskies in town.  For Rea, at 255 pounds, he says the reason he chose to play with the Wildcats was family, “I felt like it was the right fit for me. The coaches and the O-Line really made me feel like I was a part of the Wildcat family.“

Despite the Wildcats record Rea will absolutely be back for the 2017 season, “I love the game of football. We have great group of guys, and I feel that this upcoming season is going to be a lot different than last year. My first year was a real eye opener to me on how competitive junior football is. I now have a better idea of where I need to be as a player going forward. I believe in the team and the coaches and I can't wait to see how this goes.“

Playing offensive line in the Prairie Conference is no easy task especially as a rookie.  The size and speed of the predominately veteran defensive lines across the Conference take pride in “schooling” a newbie to the CJFL.   With a year now under his belt Rea has a much better understanding of how he should prepare himself for this season; “This off season my focus is to improve on my strength and power. I realized quickly that the players in the CJFL are big and physical, and if I want to get better I need to get stronger.”

He can currently bench press 225 pounds, but says this is the biggest area of strength to work on.

For Rea, it’s not “football 24-7.”  Yes the game takes up a large portion of a players’ life but the McNally grad is currently saving money to attend school by working at “The Rec Room” and says when he’s not practicing, playing or training, he spends his time with his family and friends.  

With just his second year in the CJFL kicking off this July and still four years of eligibility the soon to be 19 year old (February 18) very wisely is thinking about life after junior football, “All though my goal in life is to play the highest level of football, I am interested in pursuing a career in community services, such as working with special needs kids, or even possibly law enforcement.”

Mike Rea of the Edmonton Wildcats is a CJFL Weekend Warrior.