Cooper Prybysh committed to Western University 

Cooper Prybysh is currently a Grade 12 student at Bonnyville Centralized High School who has worked his way through the Bonnyville Voyageurs to land on the Western Mustangs. 

“I didn’t expect so many people to be interested, there was a handful of schools and I just had to pick what was going to be best for me,” said Cooper Prybysh.

Prybysh, a longtime football player in town, is known to be a role model for his teammates and has a strong mindset when it comes to the game.

“It came down to the top three schools, and Western was a big standout,” said Prybysh.

“You have to work out and spend years, it all added up. You needed to spend a lot of time at it, it won’t just come by luck, I had everything here that I needed, and without the coaching, there is obviously no chance at all.”

He will also be doing an engineering course on top of football.

His two coaches, Larry Godziuk and Kevin Sartain had nothing but good things to say about Prybysh’s work ethic and dedication. 

“He’s a smart football player, always ensuring he is the best physically and mentally, putting the time to go to the gym and become better outside of the game,” said Voyageurs head coach, Larry Godziuk. 

“He leads by example, not super talkative, but when he plays, you know he wants to win and it shows when he plays the game. He knew we might not win, but stayed strong physically and mentally, always pulling his weight.”

Godziuk has coached Prybysh in his last three years of football.

Meanwhile, coach Kevin Sartain taught Prybysh in his starting years of football, including two years of peewee, one year in bantam, and then one year in high school. 

“He is the most physically advanced high school football player I have ever seen — ever. He will step on to most university teams and be a contributing factor right away, and that’s saying something,” said Sartain. 

“I cant wait to see what the next four years will be like for him. He has a shot to go as far as he wants to go.” 

Prybysh has also recently accepted the defensive MVP award in December of 2022. 

“He comes to every practice, every game, he has given us everything. When guys look at Cooper it really lifts up the attitude, I wish nothing but the best for him, he’s going to make us proud,” said Sartain.