REGINA - Football has run in the Zipchian family for years, with Chad Zipchian playing the game for the Regina Rams in the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL).
As the years passed, the next generation of the family wants to make their name known in the sport, with Chad’s son Zach joining the Regina Thunder, the most recent Regina team in the CJFL.
Zach admitted he got into football mainly because of his dad, Chad.
"Every single Sunday since I was like [around] three years old, we always watched football. So I just always watched it, and that's how I really got into it. And ever since I was able to play since like [when I was] six or seven, I was in like flag football, and I just fell in love [with] the game."
Growing up, Zach saw the multiple trophies his dad collected from playing football. When Zach was a 5-year-old, his dad told him the stories of his collection.
When hearing those stories, Zach remembers being stunned. "I was like [wow] my dad was pretty good at football. I got to be better. I just try to be better than him every day."
Chad started playing football ironically because his dad told him one day, "you are playing football." Chad grew up in White City and played football for schools in Regina.
He described playing football when he was young as "probably some of the best times that I had in my youth. He added, "getting to know the different players and stuff like that, doing a little bit of travelling, all types of things like that [were fun]."
After playing football for numerous years, Chad was in his last year of high school. His stats in Grade 12 were good, leading to him getting an opportunity to try out for the Regina Rams.
His head coach at the time talked to the Rams team and recommended Chad and a few players on his team who got a chance to showcase their talent in front of the staff.
"I saw it as a major opportunity back then, and when I went, I went all out. Never left anything on the field when I was in practice and just really made a little bit of a shining at the camp,” said Chad.
He remembers how nervous he was getting a phone call from the Rams and hearing he made the cut.
Chad and the Regina Rams had a lot of success in the CJFL, winning the championship for four straight years.
The emotion Chad felt winning his first CJFL championship was "pretty exciting." He pointed out after winning the first championship, "it was just a building block upon building block of just challenging you. You're just building, building, building, [to] do it even better [after] what you did the previous year. They were all four of them, all four of the national championships that we won."
Chad had the goal of one day playing in the NFL or CFL. However, an injury derailed his football career entirely, forcing him to retire from the game.
In his fifth year playing for the Rams, Chad suffered an ACL injury. When doctors met with Chad, they told him, "if I [Chad] did play again and I injured it [my knee] again, there's a possibility that it might be irreparable."
Hearing those words from the doctors made Chad decide to start a different life outside of football.
Now, his son Zach is looking to make his own statement in the CJFL. Zach is an inside linebacker who played high school football at Campbell Collegiate.
His team was able to win a high school championship, which Chad also accomplished. Coaches have told Zach he’s "pretty smart at the game, and I [Zach] feel like I just understand it a bit better than most of the guys."
Unlike Chad, Zach was approached by a team in the CJFL, the Regina Thunder, to join their organization.
He recalled the timeline of when they first started showing interest in him. At the beginning of my Grade 12 year, they first contacted me to go to one of their games and like just see me. So they also wanted me to sign a junior form waiver or something like that, like to see what, what my height and weight was, my bench and stuff like that. And yeah, they just contacted me. I just kept on showing up to the games. And I was just like, since I was a 2025 recruit, they just wanted to see how I played during my senior year."
Zach understood part of the reason the Thunder reached out to him was because of his dad. He spoke about hearing people mention he’s only in his current position due to his dad.
Zach noted, "that's always going to be a conversation (regarding people telling him he's gotten far thanks to his dad). Like, imagine you're like Tom Brady's son. Of course, you're going to be recruited by a lot of schools, even if you're not the greatest. Like, it's always going to be a talking point."
Despite that, Zach appreciated the time and effort the team was putting into recruiting him. So, Zach made the decision to join the Regina Thunder, following in the footsteps of his dad.
Hearing the news, Chad was very reserved, but inside, he was jumping up and down.
Even though Zach has made the team, he understands, "I still have a long way to go, especially in a new environment like the Thunder. I have a very long way to go."
As a rookie, it will be tough for Zach to start in the first season. He described having 12 to 15 guys in front of him for a starting position.
Through his dad’s advice, Zach will work two times harder than those in front of him, hoping to get a chance to play for the team.
While Zach is competing against his teammates, he’s mentioned how fun it is to train with the group. "I was like, this team is really close [as a group]. It’s a tight-knit group, very united and stuff like that."
The team is united and wants to make it all the way to the Canadian Bowl, with Zach hoping he can contribute to their journey.
When the day comes where Zach will play on the field for the Thunder, he wants to be remembered for himself, not his dad and his legacy.
