They may be chasing different dreams, but these two brothers share one destination—Team Saskatchewan at the Canada Cup. Competing in separate sports, their paths may have diverged, but their pride in their roots remains united.
Easton Gosselin will be a member of Team Saskatchewan this week in Antigonish, Nova Scotia competing in the Football Canada Cup.
Later this month, his brother Carson will be travelling to Nova Scotia as part of Saskatchewan’s entry into the Volleyball version of the Canada Cup.
Competing in separate sports, their paths may have diverged, but their pride in their roots remains united.
For Carson, it was love at fight sight when it came to volleyball. He first started playing the sport during his Grade 9 year at Humboldt Collegiate Institue (HCI). After his first taste in volleyball, he joined the 16U Chaos Volleyball squad.
“That really showed me I want to go further in volleyball.”
When he’s on the volleyball court, Carson says he plays in the middle position.
“I kind of play in the front row and I get subbed off the back row. That's usually how it is. Middles don't tend to play back. Row middles tend to specialize in blocking because they're in the middle, they go side to side, and we're really quick with the attacks from coming from A50 to a 30, which are across the Nets.”
As he continued playing volleyball, Carson was approached to try out for the provincial 17U team. It was a successful audition for him as he was named to the team.
Despite not playing club volleyball this past season, Carson was asked again to participate in the selection camp for the 18U camp and was offered a spot on the team following the camp.
A lot of Carson’s teammates from the 17U team will be back on the 18U unit. He says that this will be helpful as they continue to develop chemistry.
“Last year was kind of like a rough year because we're learning with each other and it again is hard to get back into volleyball after being out for all of the club season. But with having a connection from last year to this year, it's easier to get into it than starting from scratch.”
In last year's Canada Cup, the Saskatchewan team finished in second to Alberta and Carson hopes the team can improve their finish this year.
“We're really hoping to come out on top this time. Really strive to get first and have the mentality to progress.”
While victories would be nice, Carson hopes the experience will last a lifetime.
“I hope that we have a good time there. It's about winning, yes, but I find that building connections with the players is what you end up remembering. Not every single game.”
Carson’s plan for volleyball will include another break as he heads to St. Peter’s College in Muenster before he heads to Saskatoon and attend the University of Saskatchewan where he plans to try out for the Huskies Volleyball team.
Easton’s busy offseason will continue as he will travel to Antigonish, Nova Scotia for the Football Canada Cup.
Back in May, he participated CFC Prospects Game in Hamilton, featuring the top Canadian high school players.
When he tried out for Saskatchewan’s entry into the Canada Cup, it was once again an intense tryout.
The process began with a full day tryout, followed by the Super Weekend, as Easton explains featured practice on and off the field.
“Three days of practice for a couple of hours and then you go to meetings and then you have a little break and then you go back to that same thing, and you repeat that day after day and then from there they can make their selection.”
He added there was plenty of competition within the province.
“You got all guys from all over Saskatchewan, and they're all training for the same exact thing that you are. You really have to just lay everything out on the table.”
In Hamilton, Easton was one of three players from Saskatchewan that played in the Prospects Game. Since he’s playing on an entire squad from the province, the offensive lineman believes that it will be easier to create chemistry with his teammates.
“CFC was trickier because, first day you're seeing faces for the first time to put a face to a name. Sometimes it's hard for people.”
Easton added that playing in Saskatoon Minor Football (SMF) over the past couple of years has allowed him to become familiar with some of the other offensive linemen on the Saskatchewan squad.
The format for the football version of the Canada Cup will feature a lot of action on the gridiron. Saskatchewan will play their first game on Monday, July 14 against New Brunswick.
From there, Saskatchewan will play again on Thursday, July 17 and will wrap up the tournament on Sunday, July 20. Their opponents will be decided upon the results of the other games of the tournament.
Even with three games in less than a week, Easton believes Saskatchewan can handle the heavy workload.
“It is a lot of football, but Prairie boys are tough and that's what we're known for hard hitting.”
He also thinks Saskatchewan’s teamwork will be an advantage.
“Everybody knows that football is a team sport, and you need chemistry and the team to bond.”
Growing up together, Easton and Carson were involved in a variety of sports, but often they chose different paths in their athletic pursuits.
Easton said that they always remain supportive of each other, even if they’re unable to be there in person.
“I think we've always just bonded through whatever experience we've done, you know, growing up like we were always around the same age.”
Carson said even with a similar circle of friends, it’s very easy to branch off on to their own trail.
“We're the same age and in being able to be in Humboldt, we have so many options for sports, so many different varieties, that it just happens to go on separate paths.”
Both brothers made sure to congratulate each other on their success in being named to the respective Saskatchewan squads.
Carson noted that he came home expecting a normal lunch but noticed him and their dad each had big smiles on their faces.
“I was kind of confused,” said Carson, “I was going to grab my lunch Making it and I went upstairs to my rooms, thinking nothing of it, just that it was weird that they were both grinning so big.”
And that’s when Easton broke the news to Carson that he made the U18 Saskatchewan Football team.
Carson noted it’s special for the brothers to represent the province in two different sports.
“It just mind blew me that both of us made it so far with being in, well, not being in Regina or Saskatoon and still being noticed by those coaches. I just thought that it was pretty spectacular.”
Easton competition at the Canada Cup in Football begins today and will end Sunday, July 20.
Carson and Team Saskatchewan will be competing in the Canada Cup in Volleyball from July 22-27.