Wes Black picks gridiron over wrestling

Multi-sport athlete Wes Black could’ve pursued post-secondary education in a new city.

Instead he chose Nanaimo, which he calls a home away from home.

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Black has committed to join the Vancouver Island Raiders’ junior football squad as a fullback for the upcoming B.C. Football Conference season, which runs from July to October. Off the field, he plans on enrolling at Vancouver Island University to upgrade with university transfer courses in the Fall 2010 and Winter 2011 semesters. Having lived in Nanaimo for a few years growing up, it’ll mark somewhat of a homecoming for an individual who also spent time in the Lower Mainland and Williams Lake before relocating to Prince George, where he’s lived for the past three years.

Black’s achievements in high school wrestling and football at PGSS opened doors to junior and varsity options. He’s already explored scholarship opportunities at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby and the University of Regina. On the gridiron, he received spring camp invites to all but one member of the six-team BCFC, the South Surrey Rams.

Committing to SFU or the University of Regina for the fall may have been a consideration for Black, a Grade 12 student who wraps up his high school studies this month. He noted that the BCFC’s Chilliwack Huskers, Kamloops Broncos, Okanagan Sun and Victoria Rebels also wanted to see him play.

“It was a hard decision, to tell you the truth,” he said. “A lot of people would say I automatically thought of Raiders and that’s where I was going. But really I had to look at all the different aspects of which place would work better for me, where am I going to get the better playing time, all these things.”

With any decision Black made, he would’ve had to sacrifice something. In choosing Nanaimo, he’s putting his wrestling on hold since VIU has no established program in the sport. It’s a bold choice considering Black’s accomplishments on the wrestling mat, which include 115-pound juvenile men’s gold- and bronze-medal finishes in this year’s national high-school championships April 9 and 10 at SFU.

Black intends to advance to a Canadian Interuniversity Sport university after a couple of seasons with the Raiders, at which point he’ll attempt a return to wrestling.

“My analogy, the way I look at it is, it’s like a bike,” he said. “You always know how to ride one, but you sometimes got to work out the kinks again.”

Lost in the whole football-wrestling conflict is rugby, another sport Black has excelled in, but one with limited opportunities in Canada. There isn’t a CIS rugby option, meaning Black’s logical post-secondary choices are in football and wresting, which attract students to universities via scholarships.

Regardless, Black still has a passion for rugby, so much that he places it above wrestling in terms of enjoyment.

“Rugby and football are the two big ones, football being top, rugby below,” he said. “Scholarship-wise though, and helping me pursue my career in getting me where I want to be, wrestling plays the biggest part into that.”

Not just a pipe dream, Black has seen where wrestling can get him in person. A month ago, he accepted an offer on an all-expenses paid trip to Regina to tour the facilities at the university and talk about the sports programs. The men’s wrestling program has a history of excellence, including back to back CIS titles in 1997 and 1998.

Their University of Regina Cougars’ football team plays home games at Taylor Field, the same surface as the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. They were Canada West conference champions in 2000.

“They’ve been a big powerhouse team in wrestling. They’ve got a great facility there. Their sports facility is amazing for football and wrestling,” Black said.

Black’s efforts in sports have put him among a limited class in the city, as he was one of 12 individuals to receive a Prince George Sports Hall of Fame Youth Athlete Award this year. He missed this year’s Hall of Fame banquet on April 10 because it fell on the same weekend as wrestling nationals. Conflicting schedules isn’t new to an athlete who’s competed competitively in three sports. Going to Regina meant missing spring camp for the Kamloops Broncos, although that may have been an easy choice.

Black has also been battling his health recently. He’s coming off an injury to his right knee, suffered during spring camp for the Okanagan Sun on May 1 and 2. The setback didn’t prevent him from attending the Raiders’ spring camp from May 14 to 16 in Nanaimo, the second year in a row he attended the team’s tryout. He said it’s been a smooth recovery.

Having practiced together, Black won’t be a complete stranger to his teammates and coaches this season. Among the Raiders coaching staff is Curtis Hansen, a former Prince George resident who was Black’s coach on the Bantam Axemen in 2007, Black’s first season in the Prince George Minor Football Association.

The Raiders’ head coach is former Prince George resident Matt Blokker.

Regardless of the connections, where Black fits in the Raiders’ lineup is somewhat a mystery.

“I could be third string, I could be first string, I could be second string, I’m not sure,” he said. “It’s hard to say. I believe if I work really hard, I have a good chance of starting. It’s going to be up to me and up to the coaches of course, how hard I work myself and if they think I’m up to that standard.”

By Alistair McInnis – Prince George Free Press
Published: June 03, 2010 4:00 PM