The pride of the Lakers football team, Tyler Ledwos, is sporting a silver medal after competing with Team Alberta at the Football Canada Cup in London, Ontario.
Although winning the silver was a great thrill, Ledwos said losing to Quebec 21-11 in the gold medal game was heartbreaking.
“We were all kind of hoping. We had our fingers crossed, but we gave them the ball,” said Ledwos. “We just gave it right back to them. They were a good team” he added.
The gold medal loss was especially painful for Team Alberta who had handily won their first two games, defeating Nova Scotia 39 - 8 and later trouncing Ontario, West 35-0.
“Our defense played incredible in that game,” said Ledwos. “It was like we couldn’t do anything wrong. We certainly weren’t making many mistakes.”
However, even with intense practices and mental conditioning, Team Alberta ended up coming home with a silver medal.
The 16-year-old Sylvan Grade 12 H. J. Cody student said playing for the Alberta team was an awesome experience.
“It was fantastic, playing at that high level. It was really good experience. At first I was kind of on my own as I was the only kid from central Alberta to make it, but at the end it was like we were like family. Everyone was really close at the end.”
Ledwos recalled the time spent with the team as an opportunity to hone his football skills, make new friends and also make some inroads into his future playing university football.
He said he is grateful to his coaches Jeremy Braitenback, Rick Dunnigan, John Kriekle and his family and friends for making the opportunity to play for Team Alberta possible. He is also grateful to his parents Jeff Ledwos, Joanne Pyne and his brother Alex for coming with him to the Canada Cup.
“They come to all my games here and it would be weird not to have them in the stands,” he said.
With one year of high school still ahead of him, Ledwos has yet to decide where he will continue his post-secondary education.
He said Scouts from Simon Fraser, Acadian University in Nova Scotia, the University of Edmonton and the University of Calgary have been talking to him.
Meanwhile, he is enjoying the summer, working out at the gym, hanging out with friends and working. At six feet, 175 pounds, he is hoping to put on about 10 pounds before football season begins.
Whether or not he bulks up in the summer, one can rest assured that when Ledwos suits up for the Lakers in the fall, he will be a force to be reckoned with.