New Canadian men's flag football head coach Paul LaPolice knows how popular the sport is in Saskatchewan and he can rely on people like University of Saskatchewan Huskies legend Mason Nyhus.
"I run a quarterback receiver camp in Moose Jaw, usually once a year, and the people in Saskatchewan are so good. We have 100 kids who come every year just for quarterbacks and receivers. Mason was a camp counselor years ago and he might even have worked there," LaPolice told the SportsCage.
"The hotbeds of flag football are Saskatchewan and Quebec. I got off the phone with Mason probably two hours ago and he's going to help me in a certain number of ways, his experience when he was a quarterback and when he played. We'll have more staffing announcements, like Joel Lipinski, who runs Ignite up in Saskatoon. There is a good Saskatchewan component."
Nyhus spent his post-secondary career with the Huskies from 2017 through 2022. He has been hired as the Huskies' assistant head coach and pass game coordinator. Last year, Nyhus played for Canada's men's flag football team.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan's under-16 women's flag football team won last year's 2024 national championship game against Manitoba 28-19.
After initially being asked to be on the committee to find the new flag football men's and women's head coaches, LaPolice decided to apply instead. One person from Saskatchewan helped LaPolice with some insight into flag football.
"I was at the CFL Combine and I spoke to one of the guys from Football Saskatchewan, Cody Halseth, who actually played years ago, he played for Team Canada. I told him I applied: 'Oh, my God, you'd be perfect for that job.' He gave me some insight that I really hadn't thought about," LaPolice recalled."
"Eventually, there could be some NFL guys coaching and on the roster, some CFL guys on the roster in a couple of years. With my professional background, that would make sense."
LaPolice's coaching career in the CFL started in 2000 when he was the Toronto Argonauts quarterbacks, receivers, and running backs coach. He's won two Grey Cups in his career, the first with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2007 and the second with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019. The last team he coached was the Ottawa Redblacks from 2020 to 2022. He currently works for the CFL on TSN as one of their analysts.
"I cleared it with TSN and said: 'Is it okay if I miss two weekends?' Suits was so fired up and said: 'Yep, we'll do a doubleheader. We'll work all weekend.' I also do colour, I'm not going to be able to colour for two weekends. They have to fill-in. Both Duane [Forde] and Glen [Suitor] have to do a doubleheader," LaPolice said.
"Once it got cleared, I was offered the job after I interviewed and I talked to the TSN people. The first call was Glen Suitor. He called as soon as he knew the schedule and we had a good conversation."
LaPolice explained the process for narrowing down the numbers for his team and his pitch to anyone else who is interested in playing for Team Canada.
"Now, they have a group of at least... I think we're at 30-35 guys that they target as the top flag football players. In two weeks, we have a free agent final evaluation," LaPolice detailed.
"We're talking about guys with a lot of flag football experience or CFL guys who played in the CFL the last couple of years who aren't playing anymore. Or guys who played U Sports level receivers and defensive backs who are interested. If you go to Football Canada's website, you can find a link to where we're in Montreal on Thursday, May 22 through Saturday, May 24. It's our last evaluation. You can sign up there and then we can have conversations or try to track me down somehow online."
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