Matthew Hewa Baddege has become used to being the big man on campus. Soon he’ll have to get used to being just another man on campus.
At 6’7” and 310 pounds, Hewa Baddege is the prize catch of four graduating student-athletes at Terry Fox secondary school heading off to continue their studies and sport at post-secondary schools in September. They include fellow footballers Chaz Marshall, who’s heading to the University of Calgary, and Liam Cumarasamy, off to the University of Windsor, as well as Addison Bradley, who will be attending Rockhurst University in Kansas on a lacrosse scholarship.
Hewa Baddege is going to the University of Eastern Washington, in Cheney, Wash., where, he expects, he’ll be surrounded by several players of equal or greater stature. In fact the Eagles’ 2018 roster featured nine players who weighed at least 300 pounds and stood taller than 6’3”, several of them freshmen.
Hewa Baddege, an offensive tackle for the Ravens who was ranked tops at his position in B.C. last season, and was named a first team All Canadian, is confident he can rise up, and out, to the challenge. After all, he’s been doing it his whole life, his growth spurts fuelled by his mom’s cooking and the motivational coaching from his older sister, Vindya.
The former puts together the carb- and protein-heavy meals like rice and chicken Hewa Baddege so loves. The latter forwards him motivational videos from YouTube that the soft-spoken 17 year-old uses to channel his inner killer instinct on the field.
Hewa Baddege said he wasn’t always the biggest kid on his team since he first started playing minor football when he was six. But as he started to grow coaches started putting him on the line.
He said he likes the aggression of the position, honing his technique and developing his athleticism to be able to take on opposing players who may not be bigger, but are likely faster and more agile.
To transfer his success at the high school level to Division 1 football south of the border, Hewa Baddege knows he’s going to take his game to a whole new level.
Since last May, when he attended his first evaluation camp, Hewa Baddege has been working with his coaches, and his sister, to improve his technique and positioning, sharpening his speed off the stance. He’s also been working out in the gym for two hours every day to build his strength.
Hewa Baddege said he entertained several post-secondary opportunities, including the University of Alberta and York University, but he liked the close-knit family atmosphere of Eastern Washington, and the small-town vibe of Cheney against a horizon of mountains feels familiar.
“I feel like I am ready,” he said.
