There’s a different vibe around the Prince George Kodiaks’ camp this year and Hayden Matheson says it all comes down the experience factor.
Last year the Kodiaks were new to the junior football scene, armed with a roster chock full of players with no previous B.C. Football Conference experience and Matheson was definitely in that group.
The College Heights Secondary School grad originally signed with the Kamloops Broncos in 2021, the year before the Kodiaks joined the league, but was limited to just one game when he hurt his back in the Kamloops training camp. Prior to that, he played most of his high school years at College Heights and some community football, but the seasons were short.
“For the players coming out of high school, I think the longest season they’ve ever experienced is like three months,” said the 20-year-old Matheson. “Our season is around three months but it’s so much more than just the actual 10 games that we play, it’s all of the training camp beforehand and the spring camps and the pre-camp practices and working out in the off-season. It’s a full year-round thing.
“I think this is a better team because the players are meshing significantly better. There’s definitely a high level of team chemistry this year and more organization in practice, so we’re getting what we need done. We had a very young team last year and we have a lot of returning guys from that team, so we just have more experience in the league. The first half of last year we were just figuring out how to deal with guys who are 22 years old who have been playing in this league. It’s a fast and physical game and you don’t realize until you play it.”
What was at first diagnosed as a pulled muscle turned out to be a broken bone in his lower spine, which hobbled Matheson for more than a year. Dealing with that adversity of not being able to play served as a reminder of how much he loves the game.
Matheson was a starter at defensive back with the Kodiaks for the first four games last season until his back injury flared up again. He returned to the lineup for the last game of the season and has found a way to manage the weakness in his back he says he was born with.
The Kodiaks went 1-9 and finished last in the conference and that didn’t sit well with Matheson and his teammates.
“The hurt of losing game after game after game, it sticks with you in every off-season in every workout you do,” he said.
“I’ll speak for everybody, all the returning players in Prince George, in the fact we feel so much more comfortable. We know what to expect and what to prepare for, and we’ve prepared for it all off-season, so we feel ready for what we’re going to do this year.”
They vow to make winning a habit this year under new coach Jamie Boreham, who started his off-season team workouts in early January.
“The Number 1 thing that’s made a difference is just organization,” said Matheson. “Jamie is detail-oriented and he cares about every little thing because he understands all the small things make the big things easy. From Day 1 he’s just been, ‘Let’s do our jobs correctly and everything else will take care of itself.’”
The Kodiaks host the Okanagan Sun in their season-opening game at Masich Place Stadium on Saturday, July 29, the first of three games this year against the defending Canadian Bowl champions.
“They’re well-coached and they have great recruiting classes every year, but we’re up to the challenge,” said Matheson. “What better way to show who we are and what we are than to face the defending champs in Week 1. Hopefully we can give our crowd a show.”
