Kicker’s football journey heads
to CFL’s Roughriders
By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| David Solie has signed with the CFL’s Roughriders. |
Solie, who is the place kicker and punter for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team, has worked at the Complex during his off-seasons taking on various roles for a number of years. When he isn’t working at the Complex as a staff member, he is either training at the Complex grounds at Ignite Athletics or working on his kicking skills at Saskatoon Minor Football Field or the Indoor Training Centre.
With the
Huskies this past season, Solie had an outstanding campaign being named a
Canada West Conference all-star and a U Sports second team all-Canadian
all-star at place kicker. He helped the Huskies finished first in the Canada
West Conference with a 7-1 record and advance to the U Sports championship game
– the Vanier Cup.
In the
Vanier Cup played on November 26 at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont., the
Huskies dropped a heartbreaker 30-24 to the always powerful Universite Laval
Rouge et Or before 8,420 spectators. Just three days after the Vanier Cup on
November 29, Solie signed with the Roughriders.
Naturally,
Solie, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 200 pounds, received lots of supportive
messages from family and friends and numerous persons he met in football. The
23-year-old was pleasantly surprised by the large number of supportive messages he
received from people he met over the years at the Complex.
“The staff there at Gordie Howe are all so friendly,” said
Solie. “It is like a mini family there.
“We’ve got the mom Janice Kozun there, and she is always
taking care of everybody. You get to meet a lot of new people. I’ve gotten a
lot of messages that I’m very grateful for from a lot of people that maybe you
don’t always hear from, but you hear from them, and they are grateful for you.
“It is a special place that hits you when there are a lot of congratulatory texts and messages coming in. I’m grateful myself for all those messages. I’m grateful that the ’Riders are able to give me this opportunity to hopefully go make the team and show what I can do.”
Solie received lots of supportive messages from staffers he has worked alongside with at the Complex. He didn’t realize how many people he met at Ignite and from sports teams and groups he has interacted with at the various facilities on the Complex grounds would reach out too.
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| David Solie is pictured for Bell Let’s Talk social media posts in Jan. 2021. |
Solie said Johnny
Marciniuk, who is the Operations Manager of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, has
helped develop a culture at the Complex that is special and the crew at Ignite
Athletics and co-owner Joel Lipinski have made a huge positive difference on
the lives of the athletes they’ve trained.
“They’ve created an environment that bleeds sports,” said
Solie, who was the Canada West all-star and U Sports first team all-Canadian
all-star punter in 2021. “Being able to work there, I know Johnny (Marciniuk)
has been able to give me those hours that work with my schedule.
“I know he has been able to do it with others as well. I’m
just forever grateful for everything that he has been able to allow me to do.
If I need time off for training, if I need time off for football or if I need
time off even just to go visit, I know Johnny (Marciniuk) has always been
really good with that.”
With the
Huskies this past season, Solie said the team had big goals after advancing to
the Vanier Cup in 2021 and falling to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs
27-21. The Huskies were looking to get back to the Vanier Cup in 2022 and win
it.
“We expect that from ourselves,” said Solie. “Obviously, it is not going to happen every single year.
“I think we just had an expectation in our minds that we were going to be back on that stage, and we were hopefully lifting that Vanier Cup. Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short there the last couple of years. It is tough in itself, but I’m super proud of our guys.
“We definitely put our best foot forward. I think (Huskies
head) coach (Scott) Flory has just instilled this expect to win mentality with
the Huskies there. I think he has something going there that is going to be
really great in the years to come.”
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| David Solie (#2) kicks a field goal for the Hilltops in 2018. |
During the
Huskies eight regular season games, Solie connected on 17-of-21 field goal
attempts with a long from 44 yards and hit on 23-of-24 of his conversion
attempts. He punted the ball 58 times for 2,276 yards for an average of 39.2
yards per kick.
In the
Canada West title game – the Hardy Cup – played on November 12 at Griffiths
Stadium, Solie hit three first half field goals to allow the Huskies to hold a
9-7 halftime lead before jetting out to a 23-8 victory over the University of
British Columbia Thunderbirds.
In the
Uteck Bowl U Sports semifinal game playing in Antigonish, N.S., Solie hit two
first half field goals to allow the Huskies to be in a 6-6 tie at halftime
before surging to a 36-19 victory over the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men.
“In the Hardy Cup, I don’t know if we played the best game
that we played, but we expected to win,” said Solie, who is set to complete his
academic studies at the U of S at the end of the school year. “We came out in
that second half, and we were able to come out with the win.
“The same thing with the Uteck (Bowl). I don’t think we came
out very strong in the first half. I think we only had six points in the first
half, and it was tied 6-6 at halftime.
“When it mattered the most, our team was able to find a way to win. That is just what good teams do.”
During his football career, Solie has made many memories at SMF Field playing for the Crusaders football team in high school, Saskatchewan’s provincial team program and helping the Saskatoon Hilltops win a CJFL championship in his one season with the storied club in 2018.
Solie was a place kicker, punter and receiver
for the Hilltops when they downed the Langley Rams 58-21 in the CJFL title game
– the Canadian Bowl – played at SMF Field on November 18, 2018.
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| David Solie (#15) kicks a field for the Huskies this past season. |
“It is a big motivation aspect,” said Solie. “I know
(Roughriders long snapper) Jorgen Hus is working out at Ignite.
“There are a lot of those pro CFL players that work out at
Ignite. Just being able to work with those guys, it is an extra motivation that
it is something to look forward to.”
