A Saskatoon football lifer

Game took Yausie from Nutana to CFL to Football Sask

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Jeff Yausie points out instructions on the Hilltops sideline on Aug. 24.

There was a time the current CEO of Football Saskatchewan and defensive coordinator of the Saskatoon Hilltops was not on the road to having a football life.

Way back when he was in elementary school, Jeff Yausie decided to give the sport a shot during a tryout camp for the Kinsmen Football League. At the time, he decided to continue with hockey, baseball, fastpitch softball and track and field as he liked those sports better.

It wasn’t until his Grade 9 year in high school that Yausie really started to be attracted to the game when he was attending Nutana Collegiate. He played for the Nutana Collegiate Blues junior team in Grade 9 and became the starting running back with the Blues senior team in Grade 10. He continued as the starting running back through Grades 11 and 12 on the way to graduating from Nutana in June of 1984.

With Yausie on the senior team, the Blues made it to the 3A provincial final in 1981 and 1983 falling to Regina Luther and Regina Central respectively. Now at age 59, Yausie still reflects on those years fondly and chuckles when today’s high school, junior and university aged players are surprised Nutana once had a team.

“They certainly don’t get it,” said Yausie. “They only see Nutana in the same vision as it is right now.

“It was a real small school when I went in the early 80s, and I had some super good friends. (We had incredible) sports people and incredible teachers at Nutana, so it was a great experience. It is so different in a small school, because you’re friends with everybody.

“It is not as clicky. We all hung out together and partied together and played together, and it didn’t matter if you were academic or if you were hanging out in the smokers’ lounge or whatever. Everybody was a part of the sports teams, and we were all friends.”

For a number of years now, Yausie’s Football Saskatchewan office has been located at the Gordie Howe Sports Centre building on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds. It is filled with all sorts of mementos from his football life. His position as the CEO of Football Saskatchewan, which governs the sport in the province, takes him all over the province and on various trips across Canada with work in the game.

When the Hilltops CJFL season is going, he can often be found at their evening practices at Ron Atchison Field or on the team’s sidelines during game days including home tilts at Saskatoon Minor Football Field serving as the club’s defensive coordinator. Over the decades, his football journey has been a long and winding one.

Jeff Yausie’s bio in the 1989 CFL Facts, Figures and Records book.

After graduating from high school, Yausie switched positions to defensive back to play four seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team from 1984 to 1987 in what is now known as the U Sports ranks. His rookie season just happened to be the first year that saw Brian Towriss begin his journey as the Huskies legendary head coach. Yausie was joined on the Huskies by his twin brother, James.

In the 1988 CFL Draft, Jeff Yausie was selected in the fifth round and 36^th overall by the Calgary Stampeders. He was listed at standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 195 pounds in the 1989 CFL Facts, Figures and Records book.

After the Stampeders training camp wrapped up in 1988, Yausie elected to suit up for the Hilltops, because his younger brother Paul was still playing on the team. James had departed from the Huskies after graduating from U of S with his commerce degree.

With the rules that existed at the time, Jeff was called back to the Stampeders and would get into three regular season games with the CFL squad. When he didn’t suit up for the Stampeders, he was allowed to fly to wherever the Hilltops schedule took them and play for them on their game days.

Overall, Yausie is amazed by the memories he has collected in the game.

“I just feel so lucky to do something that I’m passionate about,” said Yausie. “My friends in the football community, it has just been so rewarding to work with.

“It is such a unique game in how much we practice and how hard it is. Those are the kind of people I want to be around.”

In 1989, Yausie was cut by the Stampeders. He was then contacted by fellow Saskatoon product Brendan Taman, who was at the time the manager of football operations for the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Jeff Yausie, left, on the sideline with Tom Sargeant.

Yausie proceeded to sign with Ottawa and played two games with the Rough Riders in the 1989 season. He was released by the Rough Riders before the start of the 1990 season and returned home to Saskatoon.

While taking classes at the U of Saskatchewan, Yausie was brought into Football Saskatchewan by a friend to do volunteer work. He was hired to a paid position with Football Saskatchewan in the early to mid 1990s as technical director at first on a part-time basis and was moved to full-time status a short time later.

About 1999, Yausie moved to become the executive director of Saskatchewan Blind Sports. While with Saskatchewan Blind Sports, Yausie was still on Football Saskatchewan’s board of directors.

He moved back to a full-time role with Football Saskatchewan about late 2000, early 2001 as the body’s executive director. The opening came after Bernie Schmidt left Football Saskatchewan due to the fact he wanted to focus full time on his offensive coordinator position with the University of Regina Rams Football Team.

Yausie worked continuously with Football Saskatchewan since that time ultimately becoming the sport body’s CEO.

“I’ve been super fortunate just to be involved in football in this province,” said Yausie. “People are so passionate about football.

“It is 99 per cent good, and there is always one per cent bad in whatever you do. It has just been a terrific experience. We’ve had super supportive people on the board of directors over the years and just very few problems.

“One of the things that I believe in as an organization is empowering your staff and the people around you. We’ve had a terrific staff at Football Sask., and we’ve certainly grown as we’ve grown as an organization. I think we had about 5,000 or 6,000 members in around 2001 with Football Sask., and we’ve grown to around 23,000 or 24,000 now.”

During Yausie’s time with Football Saskatchewan, the organization has grown to the point it has two main offices. The north office located at the Complex covers Saskatoon and the northern part of the province. The south office located at Mosaic Stadium in Regina covers Regina and the southern part of Saskatchewan.

He is also proud of how the female side of the sport has grown during his time with Football Saskatchewan. Yausie once coached a flag team that contained his daughter, Beau, and the team won a national title in 2012.

Jeff Yausie, left, works the Valkyries sideline in May 2016.

Jeff Yausie also helped the Saskatoon Valkyries of the WWCFL get going. He served as the club’s first head coach from 2011 to 2016 working with Valkyries general manager Michelle Duchene, who still holds that same role with the powerhouse squad that has won 10 WWCFL titles.

“Right from the get go, we had great coaching and a really good organization,” said Yausie. “All of a sudden, we had incredible athletes coming to play that had succeeded in other sports and had been very successful.

“They were open to coming and giving football a try.”

When it comes to Football Saskatchewan, Yausie said the organization has one overall main goal.

“In all of it, one of the messages we try to send is we want people to have a positive and fun experience in football,” said Yausie. “That doesn’t matter if it is tackle, it doesn’t matter if it is flag, it doesn’t matter if it is playing catch in the park, it doesn’t matter if it is a “learn to” program, it is just people enjoying the game and loving the game.

“That creates a football fan, and that builds into the next generation and helps us grow.”

In 2002, Yausie rejoined the Hilltops as linebackers coach and held that position when they won CJFL titles in 2002, 2003 and 2007. He became the club’s defensive coordinator in 2010 and 10 more CJFL championships followed with the last coming in 2023. Over those years, Yausie has built an outstanding relationship with legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant.

“(Hilltops head coach) Tom (Sargeant) is an amazing leader, and he is so competitive that he has a knack to solve problems,” said Yausie. “He is a cool personality that attacks problems and doesn’t avoid them.

“I think that serves you so well in football, because if you avoid little mistakes, they turn into big ones. We all bought into that, and that is how we coach. We’re all such good friends that we’re like brothers, us coaches.

“We’re just having a good time. It is stressful when you lose or when you don’t play well, but we just embrace it and embrace the grind.”

When he looks back on his football life, Yausie said one of the things he cherishes the most is friendships and relationships he has made. With the Hilltops, Yausie admitted he never expected he would be one of the team’s coaches still at age 59. He said the great people in all parts of the game are a main reason he has remained in the sport.

Jeff Yausie, centre, cherishes the football life he has created.

“Especially for me, it is not just Hilltops,” said Yausie. “It is Valkyries and women’s football.

“It is the girls with flag football. It is coaching development. It is officials development.

“It is relationships. If you can reach out and we can get away from texting and emailing and we can just talk, we can solve a lot of problems and get along really well, which is kind of what we’ve done in Saskatchewan football.”

Dale takes spotlight as Hilltops first female player

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Emmarae Dale is the Hilltops first female player.

When media from the big cities came calling, Emmarae Dale really realized just how big her addition to the Saskatoon Hilltops roster was.

On September 15, the Hilltops announced that Dale was officially added to the team’s roster at linebacker making her the team’s first female player. Having been a member of the Saskatoon Valkyries women’s football team and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s track and field team for four seasons each, Dale expected to be interviewed by members of the Saskatoon media, and she has interacted with a number of those media members in the past.

She did about seven or eight interviews on the day the Hilltops made the announcement.

When she started getting interview requests from media members all across Western Canada including big cities like Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, the significance of becoming the Hilltops first female player and what is believed to be the first female added to the roster of a CJFL team became greater.

“It definitely started to get real at that point,” said Dale, who has also done interviews for national outlets. “That was when it sort of sunk in this is something bigger than I even realize.

“I kind of realized this is a big moment in history. It is not anything I should be taking lightly at all.”

The 22-year-old played four seasons at linebacker for the Valkyries from 2016 to 2019 helping them win Western Women’s Canadian Football League titles in 2016 and 2019. After joining the powerhouse women’s tackle football team, Dale quickly became one of the squad’s best defensive players.

On top of playing for the Valkyries, Dale competed with the Huskies track and field team for the last four seasons at the U Sports level in throwing events. She helped the Huskies women’s team win the last three straight Canada West Conference titles.

Emmarae Dale dished out big hits for the Valkyries.

Her play for the Valkyries and athletic ability attracted the attention of storied Hilltops, who have won 22 CJFL titles since the modern version of the team hit the field in 1947. The venerable Hilltops have won the last six straight CJFL titles and nine of the last 10 CJFL championships.

Dale, who stands 5-foot-6, has been practicing with the Hilltops for the last five weeks, and she has lost count of how many interviews she has done since news broke that she was officially on the club’s roster. The graduate of Saskatoon’s St. Joseph High School has done interviews with various media outlets including newspapers, radio stations, television stations, webcasts and podcasts.

At first, she didn’t know what it was going to be like to be interviewed by media members from major cities.

“It is definitely a little nerve-racking,” said Dale. “You get kind of a feel for what the questions are going to look like and feel like just from all of the interviews.

“You still don’t really know what they are going to ask. I think the biggest thing for me is just trying to stay articulate and take my time in answering questions. You just don’t know what they are going to ask.

“Just trying to think of things on the spot can be a little bit scary, but I don’t get too nervous talking to people.”

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said Dale is on the Hilltops, because she is good enough to be on the team. Sargeant added Dale is powerful, strong and quick, and you can tell she has done a lot of good work at her training sessions at Ignite Athletics, which is on the grounds of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

Dale also works shifts operating the front desk at Ignite, where most of the Hilltops also train and workout. She already knew a number of players on the team, and Sargeant she fit in right off the bat.

“She is very comfortable out here right now, and very relaxed,” said Sargeant. “There is always a smile on her face.

Emmarae Dale (#45) made big plays for the Valkyries.

“She is enjoying what she is doing. You can tell she is learning and feeling good, because we are teaching some systems and getting a feel for all that. There is some newness to what is going on, and we are all enjoying it.

“She is a great kid to be around, and she is embracing the situation she is in as we are. Now, it is our job to make her better, so that she can compete at a high level and make a lot of plays for the Hilltops.”

Hilltops defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie was Dale’s head coach during her first season and her defensive coordinator in second season with the Valkyries. He saw Dale playing flag football during her high school days at St. Joseph High School and was impressed with her athletic and playmaking abilities.

Yausie, who spent time as the head coach of Canada’s national women’s tackle football team, talked Dale into joining the Valkyries and was amazed by how quickly she improved in the game.

“You basically watch her mature and grow up each year and get bigger and stronger and get more comfortable in the football systems,” said Yausie. “To me, she has gotten better and better.

“From my experience coaching the national team, I looked at her and I identified her as a player that she can make that level, if that is what she wants and be dominate at that level. She has a great work ethic, and she is tough.

“Sometimes the intangibles of football make a good football player like toughness, mental toughness. At every practice, she works as hard or harder than everybody else.”

As Dale improved, she hit the point Yausie believed she could play and contribute with the Hilltops. He figured the announcement of her being added to the roster would perk up media interest, but he never expected how wide the interest would spread.

“I’m surprised the amount of attention it has got,” said Yausie. “To me, I don’t think it is that big a deal.

“For me as a person, I just want a player who can play. I don’t care if the player is male or female or whatever. It comes back to her character.”

Emmarae Dale is honoured to play for the Hilltops.

Yausie said Dale’s character is outstanding, and the Hilltops know her family fairly well.

Dale is following in the footsteps of her older brothers, Anthony and Donovan, who played for the Hilltops in the late 2000s and early 2010s. As the weeks go on, Emmarae said it feels more and more special to be a member of the Hilltops.

“It is pretty surreal, and it is a huge honour,” said Dale. “I honestly have no other way to put it other than it is just really humbling being on the team that is the best in Canada and the best in history.

“It is just a huge honour to be able to come out and run around with the guys and compete with them. They are amazing football players, and just to be able to be here is a huge privilege and honour that is not being taken for granted at all.”