MVP Golden Bear commit

Family is a focus for Spruce Grove running back Ilnicki.

As his high school career draws to a close, Edward Ilnicki reflects on three of the most important aspects of his life.

Edward Ilnicki

Positions:
Running Back

Height/Weight:
5’9, 210 lbs

Teams:
Spruce Grove Panthers (high school, peewee, bantam)
Team Alberta

Commitment: 
Alberta

Class:
2013

Running back Edward Ilnicki began his career with two years each of Peewee and Bantam in his home town with the Spruce Grove Cougars. In 2009, his Bantam team won a Tier 1 provincial championship. A year later, Edward represented Zone 5 in the Alberta Summer Games and took home the silver medal.

Edward’s high school years were spent with the Spruce Grove Panthers. This past season, the Tier 1 team finished second in the province, and Edward won a provincial sportsmanship award alongside being named the team’s Offensive MVP. This season also held a particularly memorable game, when the Panthers defeated their rivals, the Bev Facey Falcons.

“Never has a team from Spruce Grove beaten Facey,” says Edward, immensely proud of his team. “It was a huge win for our program.”

Edward earned another silver medal, this time at the national level, when he travelled to London, Ontario to play for Team Alberta in the Football Canada Cup last summer, and lost a hard-fought game to Team Quebec in the final.

“To see some of the best talent in Canada was unreal,” Edward recalls of the tournament. “I got to build a brotherhood with some guys from all across Alberta.”

With his high school graduation just around the corner, Edward is looking forward to the next step in his football career as a member of the University of Alberta Golden Bears. Alongside the quality of the education he expects to receive and the opportunity to stay close to home and play in front of his family, the major factor that influenced Edward’s decision was the program’s recent renewal.

“I wanted a really unique opportunity to be a part of the revival of the Bears’ football program and make it one for everyone to respect,” says Edward.

Edward will be joining his sister at the University of Alberta; while she is in engineering, his eventual goal is a degree in Business. Edward will be splitting his efforts between football and academics.

“My family is very school-first,” he says.

Away from the football field and the classroom, Edward is the consummate outdoorsman: he enjoys fishing, camping and boating with his family. He also loves to travel, and has toured Europe extensively.

Edward is devoted to his family – especially his grandfather, in whom he finds both inspiration and support.

“We share the same name and he’s always just been a man I look up to and respect,” he says. “I can’t imagine disappointing him and I think that makes me work so much harder.”

Edward also looks up to his father, who works closely with Edward’s high school football association and who gave him his start in the sport when he was just ten years old.

Edward has managed to find a balance between the major parts of his life. Whether it’s family, academics or the sport he loves, his priorities are set and his focus clear as he moves forward with all three.