Kallie St. Germain breaking barriers with WIF program in Ottawa

Don Landry

CFL.ca

@CFLLandry

Kallie St. Germain has never minded breaking new ground in pursuing her love of football, it seems.

“When I was young,” the 19-year-old native of Ottawa says, “we had an all-boys league, and a couple of my friends and I, we submitted an all-girls team.”

“And we did pretty well there.”

Years later, St. Germain is taking on a new challenge once again, guest-coaching at Ottawa REDBLACKS training camp as part of the 2025 cohort in the Women In Football Program, presented by KPMG.

And she is loving it.

“I’ve learned so, so much,” says St. Germain,” smack dab in the middle of her four week long stint with the REDBLACKS.

“I’ve picked up on more than I thought was possible.”

“All the coaches here, straight off the bat, have been super welcoming,” she adds. “They’ve never made me feel like I don’t belong or I don’t have a place here. They’re including me in everything they’re doing. I’m super grateful for all the staff here. The players, too, have done a great job of welcoming me.”

St. Germain is getting a crash course in the workings of a pro football outfit on the same field where she plays for the Queen’s Gaels women’s football team, with the REDBLACKS holding their training camp in Kingston, Ont.

The sociology major was a quarterback in high school, but has shifted to the tackle position for the university portion of her playing career.

“Our high school (St. Joseph’s) actually had a girls tackle team, and we played the first ever high school girls tackle football game in Canada,” says St. Germain, proudly.

At Queen’s, she’s shifted to the offensive line, playing what’s called “contact flag” football, a hybrid of flag and tackle football. Blocking is allowed and is, indeed, a big part of the game, but instead of taking down ball carriers physically, they are stopped by grabbing a flag off one of their hips.

Although St. Germain’s football life has been dominated by her playing on the offensive side of the ball, with the REDBLACKS, she is spending time with the defence, and particularly with linebackers/assistant head coach Deion Melvin.

“I’m trying to absorb as much as I can,” St Germain says, “hanging around him and watching film and helping run drills at practice. And kind of just hanging out, doing what he needs.”

“It’s a whole new side of the ball for me,” she says.

Kallie St. Germain is taking part in the Ottawa REDBLACKS training camp as part of the Women in Football Program, presented by KPMG (OttawaREDBLACKS.com)

If she needs any inspiration, St. Germain doesn’t have to look far to see a woman making her way in the CFL.

Ottawa’s strength and conditioning coach, Erin Craig, spent two years in the same role with the Edmonton Elks before joining the REDBLACKS this season. Craig was actually supposed to take part in the Women In Football Program, herself, in 2023, but landed her job in Edmonton after she was first given an opportunity to coach at the CFL Combine that same year.

“She’s a great, great role model, even just watching her and seeing her take the lead,” says St. Germain of Craig.

“It’s great seeing her be in the role that she’s in. I think she’s doing a great job running the program, and she’s out every practice, every game. She’s always working with the guys, so it’s cool to see her in her element.”

With women like Craig leading the way, and with more open doors like those being offered in the Women In Football program, St. Germain can imagine the possibilities ahead. And that’s something she hasn’t always felt.

“As a young girl, I didn’t think it was an option for me,” she says. “I’d never seen any female coaches or staff, so I didn’t really think it was a possibility. But now, through this program, being able to work with the guys firsthand, I think it’s definitely something I’d be more interested in if more opportunities are presented. I would love to going forward.”

To others who might wonder if the Women In Football program could be for them, St. Germain says “Do it.”

“It’s been such a great experience for me. I’m learning so, so much. Just being around a professional environment has been a great opportunity for me. So, any young girls who are thinking about it, I would say, go for it.”

Follow CFL