Spartan Aidan Harker signs with Chilliwack Valley Huskers

Strathmore High School Spartan football player Aidan Harker is continuing his football dreams at the next level, as he recently signed with the Chilliwack Valley Huskers of the B.C Football Conference, which is a part of the Canadian Junior Football League.

As a member of the Valley Huskers, Harker explained he'll be playing at a level similar to university football teams, which he is really looking forward to.

"(I'm excited to) get to know and learn from all the vets that have been playing football their entire lives, and just getting to play with more skilled and way more developed coaching too," he said.

Making it to the next level of football after high school isn't easy, and Harker credits his dedication to improving and passion for how he made it this far.

"I've always had a love for football and just recently since my grade 12 season, I found that it is what I wanted to do for a career. So, I put in the work. I went to the gym, paid for a football program at Athletic Edge in Calgary and we've been working on skills for about a year now."

"Just a lot of hard work, I'm super proud of where I am from where I started, even just in grade 12." 

While the commitment is there, Harker explained that wasn't always the case. He said in grade 10 he took the sport for granted, expecting to just show up and play. It wasn't until Spartans Coach Danny Warrack instilled the value of hard work in the team that he really went all in, and he advises any younger players looking to play football past high school to start working right away.

"Don't take it for granted, because that's what I did. I really love football, but I never thought I needed to put in the work, I thought I'd just have fun during the season, but you really need to put in the work if you want to make it somewhere."

As for the future, Harker hopes to work his way up to the pros. He said his goal is to eventually earn a university scholarship, and from there play well enough to make it to a league like the CFL.

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