The 2016 Sportslife / whsfl p
By Scott Taylor with WHFSL Commissioner Rick Henkewich , Photos by Jeff Miller , Glenn Dickson and Mike Lukyn
Andreas Dueck , will start his third season as a Varsity starting quarterback at Vincent Massey Collegiate this fall . Called a “ Dual-threat quarterback ” who is selfless , confident and extremely poised , Dueck is our 2016 Winnipeg High School Football League Player to Watch .
The WHSFL season starts on Thursday , Sept . 8 , and the league will be loaded with outstanding young athletes . You will meet 10 of them right here , up close and personal , players to watch when you head out to the field to catch the best high school football this side of Thunder Bay .
However , while there will be a load of excellent players , perhaps the most exciting will be Dueck , an 18-year-old with size , skill and heart .
“ He is a true Servant Leader : hard working , humble , selfless , confident , intelligent , and extremely poised ,” said Vincent Massey head coach Kelsey McKay . “ So much so , that he is referred to as our eye of the storm .
“ Andreas has tremendous accuracy in his throws , and demonstrates great athleticism and conviction in his decision-making , while running our no-huddle , spread option offense .
“ A future great coach , he is a true student of the game , who has spent countless hours this past off-season studying film , learning play and package design , and situational play calling .”
He is experienced beyond his years and is also his team ’ s on-field leader . While the following players are among the finest in the province , no one provides more leadership and experience at the quarterbacking position than Andreas Dueck of the Vincent Massey ( Winnipeg ) Trojans .
“ I ’ ve coached high school quarterbacks for 28 years , and he is the first one that is a real quarterback ,” said McKay . “ I always say , ‘ Some guys play quarterback , Some guys are quarterbacks .’ He is one .”
Currently , 18 CIS Universities have contacted him to recruit him for his
18 / sportslife post-secondary academic and football career .
His honors are almost too great to list : He was the MVP of the ANAVETS Bowl as a junior last season and was the Trojans Team MVP for 2015 . He was Team Manitoba ’ s Starting quarterback at the U-18 Canada Cup this July .
Academically , Dueck is enrolled in a full course load , and maintains an 84 per cent average . He is interested in Sports Psychology as a career , but is also considering a couple of other options .
“ In the offseason , in addition to our quarterback sessions at VMC , he trains his quarterback footwork and throwing skills four mornings a week from 6:30 a . m . to 7:45 a . m . with Recruit Ready ,” McKay explained . “ He also started on our varsity boys ’ basketball team and lifts three times a week with the University of Manitoba Bisons Strength and Conditioning Program , in the evening .”
Dueck is also the starting QB for Recruit Ready ’ s 7-on-7 travel team , a team that travelled to Chicago in March for the Pylon 7-on-7 Tourney . He was named the tournament ’ s All-Star QB .
“ Andreas also invested his own time and money to travel to the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodeaux , La ., during the summer of 2015 ,” McKay added . “ Also to note , to begin the 2015 season , we traveled to the Big Island , Hawaii for an exhibition game , and he led us with two TD passes in just over one half of play , to a 26-21 victory over the Kealekehe Wave Riders , our program ’ s first-ever International Victory .
“ One of the most empathetic young men I ’ ve ever met , he has a great family , great parents in Cal and Anna Dueck , who are strong in their faith . Andreas has grown up with an older brother , Caleb , who has cerebral palsy , whom he
Andreas Dueck with Rick Henkewich , 2015 ANAVETS Cup MVP calls his ‘ role model ’, and the ‘ toughest person he knows .’ I don ’ t know how he does it . He is incredibly committed , goal-oriented , and extremely humble . Andreas will be very successful in his life as a father , husband and community member and I am extremely proud to be his coach .”
He ’ s quite a young man , but he ’ s not the only star to watch this season . Let ’ s meet the other Players to Watch in each of the WHSFL ’ s Varsity Divisions :