Institute of Saskatchewan Football brings together provinces elite high school talent [Video]

The idea of establishing Saskatchewan’s first permanent high school football academy had been a dream of Brian Guebert’s for well over a decade.

Dating back to his time in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the executive director of Saskatoon Minor Football envisioned a program that would combine football development and academic learning.

After years of planning and preparation, that dream finally became a reality on Jan. 31 with the first practices of the Institute of Saskatchewan Football.

“This is formally two and a half years in the making,” said Guebert. “(And) probably about 15 years of me dreaming about doing something like this, driven by ‘How we can give our athletes the best opportunity to have success at higher levels?’”

Over the past week, roughly 50 student-athletes from Saskatoon and the surrounding area have hit the turf indoors at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex as the inaugural class of the academy.

Grade 12 student Matthew Elash told …