Bisons football kicker Maya Turner has made U-Sports history as the first female to be named a Canada West All-Star.
Turner stated that her motivation for playing football has been her love for the sport. She noted that achieving this milestone was not something she expected.
The kicker enjoyed an enviable accomplishment in the season as she churned out 75 percent of field goals in Canada West and placed 10th in U-Sports.
She achieved 12-for-16 overall on field goal attempts during the recently concluded season.
Turner has amassed 21 regular field goals, the seventh most in the university’s history. Following her incredible display, she became the first player since Scott Dixon from 2007-08 to hit at least 75 percent of her field goals in back-to-back seasons.
In a video news conference, Turner commented on her football journey and aspirations to members of the press.
The Press: What motivates you to play football?
Turner: Honestly, I just love the game. I love kicking. So that’s what got me started playing. You know, after I quit soccer, I wanted to see what I could still do with my athletic talents that I had. And I’d always loved watching football. I’d always wanted to play, but I never thought that that was something that would be realistic for me to do. And, when I started kicking, I just found out that I loved it. I loved being part of a football team, the environment surrounding it. It’s just such a fun experience being able to be a part of a football team at this level.
P: I’m just wondering, how are you preparing for the next season with the team?
T: The off-season is a lot of lifting, working out, speed work, working on explosiveness, stuff like that, like in the weight room and on the track. And then in a couple of months, we’ll start practicing kicking again, working with the other specialists on our snap, holds and the kick. That’s definitely something that’s a huge thing. Especially right before the season and during the season, just working on my focus and just trying to keep my mind focused on the specific parts of the kick and what I need to be thinking about.
P: When you started your football journey, could you imagine yourself being an all-star one day?
T: It seemed like a far-fetched goal. Of course, I wanted to do the best I could at kicking. But being able to have achieved this in my second year of playing in university is not something I anticipated. Our team played really well this year throughout the season and just really set me up for success and allowed me to have this opportunity.
P: In terms of goals looking forward, is the CFL or the NFL something that you are hoping to play in one day? What are your goals for the future?
T: I still have two more years left to play here. I’ve gotten that question a lot in the past year or so, like what my goals are after this. And I’ve kind of just said I want to just keep playing, see how much I can improve and then after that just try to play at the highest level that is, whether that’s on some sort of men’s professional team or just play at the highest level I can. So potentially, yeah.
P: How does it feel to be a superstar? You know, you’re doing that right now. You’re doing interviews. People run to see you after a game. It’s got to be special for a girl who was in Minnesota a couple of years ago. Now you’re a superstar in Canada.
T: It’s definitely not something I really anticipated going into this. Like I said, I started just because I wanted to play football at a high level. And it just happened to be on a men’s university team. And so, I think when all this first started, it was definitely a bit overwhelming with all the stuff like that. I’ve learned to just try to embrace it […] it is an honour. And the people are really interested in my story and are inspired by it.
P: What would be your message to those who will be looking up to you to also play football?
T: I’d say if you have a goal and it’s what you really want to do, there’s nothing that’s stopping you from achieving that. If you have the determination and the work ethic and the mindset just to put everything you have into it and have nothing to lose. I just think it’s important to know that if you want it, if you want it bad enough, it can be done.
