Junior Hawks linebacker Jaxin Cross Child will be participating in Football Canada's U16 West Challenge in Langley, B.C. this July.--PLAYER CARD BY PARKER GRAPHIC DESIGNS
Jaxin Cross Child is ready to level up.
The ninth grade linebacker from Alexandra Middle School’s Junior Hawks football team is working to make his dream of playing professionally a reality.
Tomorrow, Cross Child, 15, will board his first flight to travel to Langley, B.C. to join Team Alberta in Football Canada’s U16 West Challenge. Langley’s McLeod Stadium will host hundreds of young players July 1-7 as they compete to showcase their athletic ability and football skill.
“I expect it to be really competitive,” says Cross Child. “It’s the best players across provinces that we’ll be up against.”
With high school yet ahead of him, Cross Child’s aim in competing is to build skill and earn the notice of talent scouts on the sidelines.
“College scouts can watch players at a younger age develop throughout the years,” explains the young athlete. “I’m looking to develop skill and learn from the coaches and players.”
A sponsorship from Miywasin Friendship Centre made Cross Child’s participation in the football conference possible, covering his travel, accommodation and conference fees. Funding opportunities for Indigenous youth like Cross Child are made possible through Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association’s Student Supports Learning Program, designed to provide underrepresented youth with learning and mentoring supports during COVID-19.
Cross Child’s father Mike had mentioned the travel opportunity to Miywasin’s COVID-19 support worker Brandi Wilcox, who arranged the sponsorship.
“It’s about Indigenous representation,” says Miywasin’s Carol Syrette, who has invited Cross Child to visit Miywasin’s youth group to share his story. “Once our youth see what another youth is doing, it’s going to open doors that they might not know exist,” she says.
Participating in sport helps to balance the physical quadrant of one’s Medicine Wheel, a First Nations teaching that illustrates the four aspects of ourselves: the physical, the mental, the emotional and the spiritual. When all four quadrants are balanced and equally developed, we grow as happy, healthy individuals.
Cross Child also nurtures his spiritual quadrant with a strong faith.
“God gave me power and my motivation. I know He’s gonna strengthen me to do what I want to do,” he says. “I’m really excited for my future because I know I’m in good hands.”
The young athlete has a large cheering section behind him. Cross Child joined the Junior Hawks as a rare seventh grader in the lineup and was awarded Most Improved Player that year.
“My coach this past year was Hat High’s Darren Klein. He has a lot of energy. He’s always really motivational to all the players on the team,” beams Cross Child. “Our principal Todd Samuelson created this sports institute for athletes who want to take it to the next level. He helps out athletes and he always comes to the games. He makes sure everyone gets recognized for how much work they’re putting in.”
In September he will join the Hat High Hawks under longtime head coach Quinn Skelton.
“Hat High has always been a really dominant school in the province, really consistent, and watching my brother Austin play for them before, fans are really excited. It’s just really good energy at the games and I’m really excited to be part of that.”
Cross Child shares that his father and brother help motivate him a lot to reach his potential.
“My first year playing, my brother was always coaching me. I want to set the bar higher,” says Jaxin. “I appreciate all the work my dad has done for me. He always fights for me.”
Attending his first CFL game last August was a rite of passage for the football fan.
“It was the Calgary Stampeders’ season opener versus the Toronto Argonauts,” recalls Cross Child. “It was the first football game I went to which was at a professional level. The stands were packed, lots of energy and seeing that level of play in person was a really good experience.”
Imagining himself in a professional arena one day, passion and faith are driving this young man’s future forward.
JoLynn Parenteau is a Metis writer out of Miywasin Friendship Centre. Column feedback can be sent to jolynn.parenteau@gmail.com
The Miywasin Moment will take a break over summer and return in the fall.
