Regina football player wins NFL Canada Way to Play award
Sienna Berns, a 16-year-old defensive back for the Regina Victorias, has become the first female recipient of the NFL Canada Way to Play Award.
The award is presented weekly during Canadian NFL broadcasts on CTV and recognizes players across the country who exemplify proper play and technique on the field.
Berns, who also plays for Saskatchewan’s provincial U-18 female tackle football team, was chosen for the award during this past week’s set of games.
"I was very grateful and very surprised as well,” Berns said. “My mom is kind of a bad liar. So she was trying to get me to watch this commercial. I was so confused that I didn't know why.”
Berns grew up playing soccer but was drawn in by a different kind of football.
“I always saw boys playing football at recess and always tried to play them, I was not very good,” Berns said. “And I decided to get better, you know, I wanted to play."
She did get better – especially after she joined the Victorias at the earliest possible age.
“She played DB because she was a little bit small. So that kind of put her out on the outside of the field where we tend to put our smaller players,” said Aimee Kowalski, who coaches Berns on the Victorias. “But you know, she's actually grown into a stronger, faster athlete.”
"There's a spot for everybody. It doesn't matter your body type or how, like what your athleticism is,” Berns said.
Driven not by size, but hard work and strong technique, Berns now plays a variety of positions on the defensive side of the ball including linebacker and even defensive line along with special teams.
“She's not a big person, but she can handle that assignment because she does everything, you know, the way that she should be doing it and always at 100 per cent,” Kowalski said. “She's a great form tackler as well as a great ball carrier.”
The Way to Play Award also comes with a $3,000 equipment grant for Regina Minor Football.
Berns hopes her win will inspire other girls to try football. She may be the first, but she doesn’t want to be the last.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE Sinclair family shares heartfelt message ahead of memorial service
Murray Sinclair’s family members say the late justice and senator has been laid to rest according to his wishes.
Abuse, harassment and suicide: Report finds anti-Black racism exists at highest levels of federal government
A government-funded report released to CTV News highlights 'systemic racism' against dozens of Black executives within the federal public service, including allegations of abuse, violence and harassment that, in some instances, led to suicide.
Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
Donald Trump has said he wouldn’t be a dictator — 'except for Day 1.' According to his own statements, he's got a lot to do on that first day in the White House.
Liberals to face third test in federal byelection in British Columbia next month
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced voters in Cloverdale—Langley City will pick their next member of Parliament on Dec. 16.
King Charles III and Kate attend remembrance events as both slowly return to duty
King Charles III led the nation Sunday in a two-minute silence in remembrance of fallen service personnel in central London as the Princess of Wales looked on, a further sign the royal family is slowly returning to normal at the end of a year in which two of the most popular royals were sidelined by cancer.
Cornwall, Ont. prepares for potential influx of asylum seekers following U.S. election
As the possibility of mass deportations looms following Donald Trump's re-election on Tuesday, border towns like the City of Cornwall are preparing for a potential influx of asylum seekers.
Sarnia, Ont. police make 'high-risk' arrests, charge 3 with kidnapping
On Friday, the Sarnia Police Service (SPS) received a report of an alleged abduction in the area of Kathleen Avenue and Walnut Avenue.
Canadian delegation 'overwhelmed' by visit to Great War battlefields
It's been a trip to cherish for a group of Canadians visiting Belgium this week to honour the legacy of Indigenous soldiers.
Donald Trump knows the Canada-U.S. relationship 'in a way he didn’t before': Ambassador
Canada's ambassador to the United States — and co-lead of the federal government's Team Canada war room — says U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has a different understanding of the bilateral relationship than he did during his first term in the White House.