Yachison joins the pride

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This article was published 31/12/2015 (3853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Transcona man is moving up the gridiron food chain out on the West Coast.

After five seasons with the Kamloops Broncos of the British Columbia Football Conference (BCFC), Murdoch MacKay product Derek Yachison has signed a multi-season contract with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League.

 “Just to be able to get to that contract is huge,” admitted Yachison, who is back in Winnipeg to train during the off season.

Yachison, 22, started playing flag football when he was 13, moving up to tackle football with the Transcona Nationals a year later.

“I haven’t looked back since,” Yachison said.

In high school, he enrolled at Murdoch MacKay. It was at Murdoch, after a very successful Grade 11 year, that Yachison decided he was going to focus his energies on making a career out of football.

“I immediately looked at playing down south,” Yachison recalled. While nothing came of it, his exposure to the American game proved useful to Yachison.

“It was a good exposure seeing what it’s like at the next level there,” he said.

Adam Smith was the offensive co-ordinator at Murdoch when Yachison was playing for the Clansmen.

“He had good hands to catch the ball and he worked really hard, and he listened,” Smith, who now coaches the Valley Huskers in the BCFC. “His toughness always stood out. His Grade 12 year, we went 10-0-1, and he did it all with a broken bone in his foot.”

While that broken bone in his foot may have cost Yachison some early opportunities, a chance opportunity ended up leading him to B.C. after graduating in 2011.

“I got a call from Kamloops,” Yachison said. Kamloops offered him a scholarship and a walk-on position with the club. “I’d never even heard of the town!”

When he first arrived, the Kamloops team wasn’t a very good one, winning only a few games per season. Still, Yachison and his teammates stuck with it.

“The biggest things I’ve learned in Kamloops is how to be a competitor and how to self-motivate,” Yachison said.

Brad Yamaoka, head coach of the Kamloops Broncos and a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber and B.C. Lion, said Yachison’s determination and hard work made him a leader among the Bronco herd.

“He’s one of those kids you don’t have to worry about,” Yamaoka said. “Guys look up to him.”
Yamaoka said he’s thrilled to see Yachison realize his potential as a player.

“He’s where he wants to be,” Yamaoka said. “The one thing that I was always impressed with was his drive, his willingness to do what was needed.”

That willingness to do what was needed allowed Yachison to excel in the BCFC. Currently, he is the conference record holder for most receptions all-time in a career, game, and season. He’s twice been named a BCFC All-Star, twice singled out for the BCFC Outstanding Receiver Award, twice been named CJFL All-Canadian. This past season, he was voted both BCFC Outstanding Offensive Player, and CJFL Peter Dalla Riva Outstanding Offensive Player.

In 2013, he caught the attention of a scout from the B.C. Lions organization.

“He came up to me after game and they invited me out to evaluation camp in spring 2014,” Yachison said.

Since then, he’s attended two training camps, and spent six weeks on the Lions practice roster in 2014. In 2015, he spent the whole season on the practice roster.

“That was the biggest thing for my development,” Yachison said. “That’s just coaching you can’t get anywhere but the pro level. I was picking up stuff every day.”

Both Smith and Yamaoka said Yachison’s strengths on the field are his hands and his route running, two areas that Yachison has worked on to set himself apart from other young receivers.

“I’ve focused on route running, and making sure I was good at catching in traffic,” he said. “I think those are my two big things.”

“We’re all born with certain physical attributes,” Yamaoka said. “Derek wasn’t born with blazing speed, but he has the intelligence to do things on the football field that will help him stand out.”

In early December, Yachison got even closer to his pro football dream when the Lions offered him a multi-year contract.

“There’s a variety of things that can happen before training camp is done,” Yachison conceded. However, he remains hopeful that the Lions will find a place for him.

Regardless of how camp plays out, Smith sees a future for Smith in football.

“I see him lasting for years, with his work ethic and his ability to learn,” Smith said. “I could see him being a good coach one day, whether in college or the pros. He’ll be doing something with the game for as long as he wants to. He’s got the love of the game.”

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