Virden’s Zane Anderson recently got to see how he looked against some of the best football players in the country.
The 17-year-old son of Shaun and Tina Anderson was a member of Team Manitoba at the Football Canada Cup. The team finished sixth at the prestigious event, which ran July 15-22 in Calgary.
“The best part of the tournament, to me, was being able to see how I stacked up against the other players and get a feel of what football at the next level looks like,” Anderson said.
He is heading into Grade 12 at Vincent Massey High School. Anderson played Grade 9 football at Virden Collegiate Institute before transferring to the Brandon school.
He said the level of play at the Football Canada Cup was higher than what he had experienced in high school.
“We were playing against the best players in each province and everyone had gone through many try-outs to beat out other good athletes trying to make the same team, so no one was taking it easy,” Anderson said.
He proved that he could play at that level.
“Zane is a powerful running back with tremendous vision,” said Team Manitoba head coach Ryan Karhut, who also was the squad’s running back coach and special teams’ coordinator. “He's an elite blocker who takes a lot of pride in his craft. He works hard on every aspect of being a running back.”
The head coach was impressed by how hard Anderson worked at getting better every time he stepped on the field.
“Every drill, competition, and team drill we did, Zane was always locked in and ready to do everything he could to ensure success for himself and his teammates,” Karhut said.
Anderson’s versatility allowed him to contribute on special teams as well as on offence.
"Zane had great success on special teams and was an incredibly important piece of our team’s kick and punt return teams as his contributions directly led to a lot of very successful returns,” Karhut said.
Anderson enjoyed his Canada Cup experience. He praised his parents for their role in his football career.
“Without them I most likely wouldn’t be playing football, and I definitely wouldn’t have gotten to play in the Canada Cup. They are always very supportive of me whether it be driving me where I need to be or providing comfort if a game doesn’t go the way I wanted it to. I am very lucky to have them as my parents.”
This fall Anderson is hoping to help his Vincent Massey Vikings to a successful season.
“We are moving up into the Division 1 Gustafson Conference in the Winnipeg High School Football League so the competition will be much greater,” he said. “I’m looking forward to leaving everything on the field and being a leader for my teammates on and off the field.”
