By Katie Brickman-Young

David Solie ready for home opener

Solie’s Huskies prep for Golden Bears

Oct 15, 2021 | 12:58 PM

David Solie put in the hard work last year, and it’s paying off this season.

The fourth-year punter/kicker for the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskies football team got Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week honours in Week 1 after a successful game against the University of Calgary Dinos in late September.

“It was almost a surreal moment,” said Solie. “We were off for the year, but I put in a lot of work myself. I got a lot of help from coach (Braden) Suchan, and he helped me do what I needed to do to get ready for the season.”

That work during the cancelled season due to the pandemic as well as the off-season included dropping 20 pounds and working on the mechanical aspects of his kicking.

“I was up around 205 (pounds) and I dropped a bunch of weight. Just working on strength and conditioning with coach Joel Lipinski was helpful in getting me a routine,” he said. “I think everything is clicking right now. I know I put in the work, so it’s just a matter of execution when I am on the field. Spending that time in the offseason doing what I was supposed to be do has helped.”

2025 schedule set

Huskies host UBC in September 5 home opener

May 13, 2025

Seth Hundeby

Going camping

Apr 30, 2025

Listen: A chat with Super Bowl Champ Luke Willson

Willson is ready for Dog's Breakfast

Apr 17, 2025

So far this season, special teams coordinator Jerry Friesen has been impressed with Solie’s impact on the field.

“Credit to him – he did a great job. He was flipping the field for us. On our punts, he was matching up punt for punt where we were gaining 10 yards every time. If you can add that to field position, that is a huge benefit,” said Friesen. “David was punting well and what he was doing in the structure was positioning the punt so that our coverage teams had great opportunities to move. It was a 1.9 return average, so David was putting the ball in a great position for our guys to cover.”

David Solie earned Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week honours. (Katie Brickman-Young)

The biggest difference Friesen has seen in Solie has been the maturity level of the veteran. Knowing he took the time during the cancelled season to continue to work on himself, his game showed how much he was ready to come back and have a solid season.

“He worked diligently when we weren’t in a structured environment. He ended up using indoor facilities and working on his foot work and technical aspects,” said Friesen. “The result is paying off on game day. That is a huge benefit for us when we start looking at our concept of flipping the field.”

One component of his game that Solie has consistently worked on is the mental aspect – clearing his mind before kicking, and quickly moving past bad kicks.

“I’ve had to learn how to sweep my mind. I went through a lot of mental stuff throughout Grade 12 and first year of university, but I got all that stuff figured out,” he explained. “Now, when I get out there to kick, I take a deep breath, forget everything else that is going on, and kick the ball like I’m supposed to.

“If you are dwelling on the past and you have a couple of bad kicks, it is so easy to fall into a spiral. I’ve talked to coach Suchan about it, and knowing you can be upset for a bit, but then you know you have to get back out there and keep going.”

The Huskies will host their first home game at Griffiths Stadium in 714 days when the Alberta Golden Bears visit the U of S Campus. (October 16th, 2pm)

“This is something we have been looking forward to for a long time. It will be a matter of managing our emotions and making sure we go out and execute what we’ve been moving on, and making sure we carry that momentum,” said Friesen. “It is going to be our home field and that is an advantage for us. That is going to be lots of fun.”