Being a dual-sport athlete at the university level is tough. Few athletes even attempt the feat due to the intense time commitment and training.

Catlin Schneider and Rylan Kleiter were able to pull it off. They both played for the University of Regina Rams football team and the University of Regina Cougars curling team during their time in university, and both continue to curl competitively.

Schneider came from a curling family and grew up around the sport. When he was recruited by the Rams, he admits that curling was "put on the shelf for the time being."

However, Schneider eventually agreed to play for the university team, and began competing in both sports.

"Football was very demanding, and a lot of the time, during the season, you were basically at practice every day from 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and didn't leave the facility until 10 p.m. at night," said Schneider.

Schneider, who is from White City, S.K., played receiver for the Rams from 2010-2014 and curled for a few of those years for the university team, including playing in the 2014 Curling Nationals which were held in Regina. He says it was an awesome experience playing in front of a home crowd.

"The university team gave me that opportunity, and some of those teams we played are still on the world curling tour," said Schneider.

While his football playing days are over, he still uses many of the skills he learned during his time with the Rams, especially when it comes to getting physically prepared.

"I still like to think I train a little bit like a football player," said Schneider. "Even though it is a little bit different with curling."

One similarity is the support both sports receive across the province, support he felt as he represented Saskatchewan in three different Brier tournaments.

"Saskatchewan people love to support and follow their own," said Schneider. 

Another former Ram, Rylan Kleiter, knows that support all too well. Last year, he participated in his first Brier as he skipped for Team Saskatchewan. He played for the Rams  as a receiver and kicker in the 2021 season and played four seasons before that with the Saskatoon Hilltops.

"I think just being in Saskatchewan, there's just a sense of pride when it comes to both sports," said Kleiter. "It's pretty cool to see how the community gets behind them."

Kleiter also grew up in a curling family. His father Dean represented Saskatchewan at both the 2001 and 2003 Brier's.

"I would always go throughout the whole football season and as soon as football season was done, I would switch to curling," said Kleiter. "That's kind of how it was growing up."

And, according to Kleiter, being a skip and a kicker was mutually beneficial.

"[Pressure moments] are how I would draw the connection between the sports for me," said Kleiter. "There's always that situation where it comes down to either your last rock or your last kick."

You can catch the next generation of curlers live in action when Regina hosts the U SPORTS/CCAA Curling Championships from February 16-21at the Callie Curling Club.
Tickets can be found here: https://www.showpass.com/usport-ccaa-national-curling-championship/.