‘Natural athlete’ seeing success in intercollegiate league
Basketball used to be a slam-dunk choice as Zach Shalley’s favourite sport.
Then he was introduced to football in Grade 10.
“Basketball and football are tied now,” Shalley, a receiver with the Sheldon-Williams Spartans, says with a chuckle. “It’s kind of crazy.” So are Shalley’s statistics. In six Regina Intercollegiate Football League regular-season games in 2016, Shalley caught 37 passes for 667 yards and nine touchdowns. He was the Stewart Conference’s runaway leader in all three categories.
In modest fashion, Shalley is quick to dispense credit to the Spartans’ quarterback (Jayden Lorenz) and a coaching staff that includes Jobie Taylor, who was a dominant receiver with the 2014 Spartans. Taylor now coaches Shalley and Sheldon’s other receivers.
Shalley had a strong season in 2014, when he was in Grade 10, despite being in his first year of organized football.
“There was kind of peer pressure from my friends because I didn’t play football in Grade 9,” Shalley says. “They just nagged me.
“I wasn’t too high on football, but then I kind of fell in love with it in Grade 10 when I decided to play.”
Shalley was instantly impressed with the Spartans’ quarterback of the day, Ellis Richards, and the sport as a whole.
“I liked the team aspect of it,” Shalley recalls. “If one of us doesn’t do our job, the whole team fails. If we’re all working together, we all succeed.”
Shalley is also accustomed to success on the basketball court. He has been a provincial-team player in each of the past four years, beginning with the under-15 program before moving to the under-16 and under-17 ranks.
Considering that versatility, Spartans head coach Brent Blakley refers to Shalley as “a natural athlete.”
If one of us doesn’t do our job, the whole team fails. If we’re all working together, we all succeed.
The Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League season is only a few weeks away, but Shalley’s immediate focus is the RIFL playoffs.
Sheldon-Williams is preparing to face the Balgonie Greenall Griffins on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., in a Stewart Conference semifinal. In the other semifinal, the Miller Marauders are to meet the Luther Lions at 5:15 p.m.
Wednesday’s winning teams are to meet Monday, 6 p.m., with the Stewart Conference (3A) title at stake.
Schwann Conference (4A) semifinals are scheduled for Friday, when the LeBoldus Golden Suns are to meet the O’Neill Titans (5:15 p.m.) and the Campbell Tartans are to collide with the Riffel Royals (7:30 p.m.). The Schwann Conference final is Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. All the aforementioned games are at Mosaic Stadium.