Coming out of high school with the St. Joseph Guardians, a lot was expected out of Logan Reider.
In her first university sports season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team, however, she blew those expectations out of the water.
Reider put together one of the best rookie seasons in the history of the Huskies program, averaging 10.8 points per game while knocking down over 30 percent of attempted three-pointers, eventually being named Canada West rookie of the year.
A mark she’s aiming to build upon in the 2023-24 season.
“It just puts a benchmark on me to see what I can do and something to reach for every single year,” said Reider. “Starting off strong and now just building upon that, setting a benchmark. Now I got to make sure my second and third years I’m still building a name for myself, not just relying on my first year.”
While it was a season to remember for the first-year guard, the title of best athlete in the Reider family is a hotly debated topic.
She’s surrounded by three other elite athletes on a daily basis, including her older brother Trey who stars on the gridiron with the Saskatoon Hilltops.
“We’re never, ever home together at the same time really,” said Logan. “I think I’ve seen my brother twice in the last two weeks and they’ve both been after his games. So, it’s super chaotic.”
Trey is one of the top quarterbacks in Canadian junior football, throwing for just under 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns with the Hilltops this season and is currently chasing a Prairie Football Conference championship.
The relationship between the Reider siblings is one of constant competitiveness, according to Trey, as each continue to excel in their particular sports.
“It’s a bit of a competition every day to see who is better, who is out there, putting up better numbers,” said Trey. “We always come home and are competing against each other, but we have a pretty good relationship at home.”
Those post-game conversations often turn to the mistakes each other made as Logan explained, with the pair pushing each other to improve on a daily basis.
“He’s like my best friend, but we’re definitely competitive,” said Logan. “We play different sports so we can’t compare our stats too much. But if he throws a pick or if I have a turnover, we kind of just zero them out.”
Athletic inspiration for the duo came from an early age from their parents Shane and Reanne, who were top performers for the Hilltops and Huskies decades prior.
Reanne was a three-year member of the Huskies women’s volleyball team from 1992 to 1994 and has since gone on to be a well-known coach in the local minor volleyball scene, coaching Logan for years as a multi-sport athlete.
As for Shane, he was a star quarterback with the Hilltops in the late 1980s and now coaches his son as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach with the ‘Toppers’.
“I’ve been part of some great staffs with some great parents who have helped me understand what it’s like to coach your own child,” said Shane. “The struggles that go with it, the car-rides, and when to be dad and when to be coach.”
“But I know on Sundays seeing him out there playing is pretty exciting and it’s a pretty special feeling.”
Striking that balance of father and coach happens daily, but Trey said he appreciates getting to grow with the help of his dad.
“It’s a pretty cool experience to have him coaching me every day,” said Trey. “Seeing him at the house you don’t get away from the guy, but it’s something I’ll cherish.”
Between practices, games and training sessions, the Reider family admit it’s tough getting all four members together at the same time.
But they try to attend as many of each other’s games as possible to lend their support through athletics.
“It actually means a lot to us,” said Trey. “It’s fun to come home after a good game saying, ‘I did this, what did you guys do today?’ They’ll then go out and prove something, so it’s awesome to compete against them every day.”
With Hilltops season drawing to a close soon and Huskies basketball just starting to ramp up, it’s a busy time of year for the Reiders.
For Trey and Logan, they’re soaking up this time together, wanting to acknowledge the work that’s been put in by their parents and the volunteers who continue to fuel their passion for sport.
“My parents set a standard for me and Trey and it’s just an honour to be a part of it,” said Logan. “We just sit together and watch Sunday Night Football or whatever we have to do, it’s super huge to me.”
“Sports have impacted my life for my entire life, and we definitely wouldn’t be the family we are without it.”
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