By Jonathan Tremblay & Patrick Boyle
Defensive End Zack Evans was born and raised in Regina. He followed the dream through high-school football, a short stay with the University of Regina Rams, the Regina Thunder and now his second season in the Riders. That being said, Zach did not have a traditional athletic journey, lifting weights in the gym and running track for years as he played in increasingly competitive levels of football. Sure he played volleyball, basketball and football competitively in high school and trained hard, but Zach credits much of his strength and vitality today to another very-Saskatchewan sport: Ukrainian dancing.
From the age of four, Zach was intrigued by the cultural dance and although his family was only distantly related to the Ukraine, they encouraged the boy to do what makes him happy. That is how Zach came to dance in sixteen editions of Regina’s Mosaic Festival. “It’s an intense workout,” says Evans. Some may think it’s just a less-common hobby, but it truly was a sport and passion for Zach. He had to retire from the dancing a few years ago, but keeps the discipline, flexibility and stamina required for this 6-foot-4, 300 lb. Rider to do cartwheels, split-jumps and the general acrobatics we’ve all watched in awe at some point.
Ukrainian dancing is also where Zach met his wife, Jenna: “we also went to high school together but it was through dancing that we started going out.” When Zach reached the University of Regina Rams, he started to question his future career, in sports and otherwise. He left the Rams and it was Jenna who got him back on a training regimen and back to football with the Regina Thunder. Zach credits his wife as the single-most important influence on his life and career. Were it not for her, Mosaic Stadium may have had one less Ukrainian dancing defensive end.
Like many Riders, Zach works out hard during the off-season, keeping in shape during the winter and spring months, but he also to practice’s some skills for when his football days are behind him. True to form, Zach has a very Regina off-season career, working as a heavy machinery operator with Co-op Refinery north of the city: “I have to give them a big shout out,” says Evans. “It’s not every workplace that would give you a good job and health insurance, and then let you take six months off to go play football.”
Regina has been Zach Evans’ life and he wouldn’t trade it for the world: “I love the heat; I love the cold; I love everything about it.” He says his home field advantage is even greater than most, with friends and family cheering him on at every home game. His parents are especially proud of his career path. Zach’s mother was a track star in small-town Saskatchewan and his father won two national championships with the Rams during his playing days. It was only due to a career-ending back injury during Roughrider training camp that Zach’s father wasn’t also one of the boys in green and white for a longer career. That being said, Zach’s parents and Jenna are part of the thirteenth man in the stadium now, cheering him on as Regina and all of Saskatchewan look ahead to the playoffs.
See Zach and the Riders as they host the Eskimos at Mosaic Stadium this Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013.
