It’s a grey, overcast morning in Okotoks. The kind of Saturday you figure would have been better spent in bed.
A ray of light catches your eye. It’s source? The effervescent smile of Cochrane High School Cobras centre Brock Wiebe. Suddenly, the day isn’t so drab.
The 6-foot, 220-pound Grade 11 is at the football field, four-months after being diagnosed with advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Following three rounds of chemotherapy since late February, the 17-year-old multi-sport athlete (football, basketball, track) is dressed on the sidelines. Wiebe is slated to observe his team’s controlled scrimmages, not play in the Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) Knights’ June 14 spring football jamboree.
But he won’t be denied, getting five snaps with the Cobras varsity offensive line against Foothills Composite High School Falcons. After reliably delivering the ball to quarterback Tae Gordon’s hands on every play, he proceeds to pound his hat into anything that moves in a Falcons uniform. He gets in another six snaps against Drumheller later in the afternoon.
Less than 16 weeks since being hit with a serious cancer diagnosis, Brock Wiebe has come all the way back.
“I feel great. I’ve been done (last round of chemotherapy) for a couple of weeks now,” Wiebe says between scrimmages at HTA, the only visible sign of treatment being his bald head. “I have fairly decent energy for coming off of it. As you can tell, putting on pads and all that.”
During Cochrane’s first scrimmage against host HTA, Cobras co-head-coach and offensive-coordinator Rob McNab insists Wiebe won’t get any reps at the spring jamboree, opting to save his starting centre for the resumption of pre-season high school football in August. By the second session against Foothills, Wiebe is on the field banging heads in a five-play offensive sequence.
“With Brock, he’s an inspiration to every kid on the field anywhere in this province,” McNab relates. “I mean, he’s fighting cancer. All signs look great. He’s been to every practice. He does not miss workouts. He was going through chemo.”
Wiebe is just happy to be with his teammates.
“The team helps me through this a lot,” Wiebe says. “It does. It’s a good atmosphere. Everything is really nice. It has helped a lot mentally and physically.”
On cue, fellow lineman Justin Sambu jogs over and exclaims: “Hey, Brock-eeee!” as they amble across the field together to grab a between-scrimmage snack.
For Wiebe, it’s the resumption of what he left behind after being diagnosed in February. For those around him, it’s the reassurance of seeing him back on the field.
All through this process Wiebe’s determined approach, and unwavering optimism, have fuelled his success.
“It wasn’t too bad,” he says of his fight against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “It’s still worse than what you want.
“But it’s great to be back to centre. I love snapping the ball.”
Obviously, this is not your average 17-year-old high school athlete. Inside beats the heart of a lion with the resolve of a pit bull, wrapped in a Cobra’s skin.
Cloudy days and cancer take note: nothing is stealing Brock Wiebe’s sunshine.
