Player Profile Zach Bosch

BRONCOS PLAYERS PROFILE: ZACH BOSCH

Story: Brenden Escott

21-year-old Zach Bosch may only be in his first season with the Kamloops Broncos football club, but he’s already finding ways to be an impact player.

The defensive back from Sherwood Park, Alberta is coming off a two-interception performance in the rain-soaked 60-11 drubbing of the Westshore Rebels last Saturday. Bosch finds himself second in the league with those two interceptions, but he says it’s not necessarily natural athleticism that allows him to make big plays.

“I’m probably more ‘football smart’ than athletic, I’d say. I’m not the fastest or strongest kid but I know how to read and make the plays and know where I need to be.”

Bosch got his start playing bantam football back home in Sherwood Park and carried his career through his high school years before playing junior. He says it was the promotion of Brad Yamaoka to head coach of the Broncos team that brought him further west.

“I had a coach that used to play with Yamaoka and he raved about how good of a coach he was and when I heard that the team really came together as a family it really attracted me. I like to go somewhere where everyone just blends and gets together well,” said Bosch.

Of course, it’s hard to discount the attraction to the summer heat the city of Kamloops has to offer.

“I love it. It beats Alberta, that’s for sure,” said Bosch.

With three regular season BCFC games now under his belt, Bosch has an idea of what to expect out of the competition and his own team, and like the rest of the Broncos, Bosch is optimistic about their chances this season.

“I think we’ve got a lot of potential. I think our own enemy is really ourselves. We can go pretty far in this league but we’ve got to stay true to ourselves and play to the best of our abilities every game.”

When Bosch finishes playing out his only year of eligibility in the BCFC, he plans on heading home to give back to grassroots football, which is something he’s already been doing. He helped coach the Salisbury Composite high school football program in Sherwood Park, and in fact coached current Broncos defensive lineman Tevin McCarty in McCarty’s senior year.

“I want to give back to the community and teach the younger kids when they come up and give them something to strive for. I think giving back is really important,” said Bosch.

The Broncos hit the road for their longest road trip of the season over to Nanaimo this weekend to take on the Vancouver Island Raiders—a team they’re currently tied with for second place in the BCFC but who are also coming off a loss last weekend. Bosch knows that the Broncos are more than capable of securing another W.

“It’s going to be a tough game but like I said, we’re our own worst enemy. If we can play to the best of our abilities it should be a good game.”

Bosch and the rest of the boys in orange and blue will look to set a precedent in game one of a home-and-home series with the Raiders, this Saturday at 4 p.m.