Every game, don’t miss Barney Shynkaruk’s Behind the Facemask — a closer look at your favourite Saskatchewan Roughriders.
This week: Roughriders kicker Alex Hale.
Barney Shynkaruk:
All right, it’s Behind the Facemask this week with Alex Hale from Gosford, New South Wales, Australia.
And Gossy — that’s the nickname?
Paint the picture for us. What’s Gosford like?
Alex Hale:
Yeah, it’s a beautiful little coastal town.
We’re about 10 minutes from the beach and right on the bay too, so lots of water and lots of sunshine.
Barney:
I saw the aqua park.
Have you ever hit that up?
Alex:
Yeah, when I was younger my brother and I used to go down there and jump off all the inflatable slides and all that stuff in the water.
Barney:
This is probably a question you’ve been asked a lot.
When do you find out about North American football? How does that happen?
Alex:
I grew up mostly playing soccer.
My dad played rugby, so every now and then we’d go down to the field and kick rugby conversions, kind of similar to uprights but off a tee.
It started as something we did for fun.
We’d joke that maybe one day I’d end up kicking in American football.
But it didn’t really become a reality until after high school.
I moved to America where my brother was living for a few months, met my kicking coach and spent some time with him learning the position.
Barney:
Where was your brother living? Was the plan always to make inroads into football or did it just happen?
Alex:
He was at San Diego State playing soccer and studying.
I moved over with him for a few months and thought it was something worth trying.
My coach thought I had potential, so I took it from there and eventually went off to college.
Barney:
You’re a walk-on at Oklahoma State.
That’s always a gamble.
Were you confident?
Alex:
Yeah, I was confident in my ability.
But I’d never actually played a football game, never put on shoulder pads or a helmet.
Everything was new territory.
But they showed interest in me and I decided to take the gamble.
Barney:
Besides soccer, what other sports did you play?
Australian Rules? Surfing?
Alex:
A little bit of everything.
Mainly soccer.
But living by the water, I grew up surfing and water skiing.
I played tennis too.
Barney:
No golf mention there.
I saw the Instagram swing. You look like you’ve got some game.
Alex:
Golf’s more of a hobby.
Whenever we get a day off, I’ll get out and hit a few balls.
Nothing too impressive.
Barney:
What’s the handicap?
Alex:
Usually mid-80s.
Every now and then I can put together a decent score.
Barney:
Favourite Australian golfer?
Alex:
I like watching Jason Day.
He’s got a good YouTube channel too.
Barney:
Game day Saturday, Sunday, are you sitting on the couch watching the U.S. Open?
Alex:
Yeah, for sure.
Barney:
What would you shoot at Shinnecock Hills?
Alex:
Higher than the numbers go up.
That’s for sure.
Barney:
Your college career was a grind.
Then there was the injury in pregame warmup.
Alex:
Yeah.
I waited a few years for my opportunity.
Started playing in 2020 and had a good first half of the season.
Then I injured my knee during pregame.
That put me out for another year and a half.
It was definitely difficult coming back from that, but I stuck with it and eventually got a full season at the end.
Barney:
What did you take in school?
Alex:
Applied exercise science.
Barney:
And what does someone do with that?
Alex:
Originally the plan was to move into physiotherapy.
But I haven’t stopped playing football since graduating.
Barney:
Then you have a great final season and get a look professionally.
But then there’s another injury, and that’s why you wear the glasses?
Alex:
Yeah.
I spent a year with Green Bay on the practice squad.
Then about a week before heading back for preseason camp in 2025, I injured my eye.
That’s why I wear the glasses now, to help with brightness and a little bit with vision.
Barney:
I know Rider Nation has been wondering about that.
When’s the first time you heard about the CFL and maybe Regina?
Alex:
Coming out of college, I’d talked with Kent Maugeri a few times about potentially coming up here.
It didn’t work out then, but eventually things moved in this direction and it worked out this year.
Barney:
Besides Rider Nation and the fans, what’s been your favourite part of Regina?
Alex:
I appreciate the energy of the city.
Canada feels pretty similar to Australia in a lot of ways, the people and the culture.
I’ve really enjoyed that.
Barney:
Do you study the wind in different stadiums? Hamilton, Montreal, all these places can be tricky.
How do you approach that?
Alex:
You take it kick by kick.
Pregame gives you an idea of the conditions for that day, but by kickoff things can completely change.
Some stadiums definitely have tendencies, but at the end of the day you’ve got to adjust in the moment.
Barney:
What’s game day like for a kicker?
Take us through the routine.
Alex:
If it’s an afternoon game, I try to get as much sleep as possible.
Grab a coffee and breakfast.
Relax and take my mind off football for a bit.
Then a couple hours before kickoff, start stretching, getting loose and head to the stadium.
Barney:
Headphone guy during warmup?
Alex:
Not normally.
The stadium usually has pretty good music.
Barney:
Any Aussie bands they should be playing?
Alex:
Maybe.
I’m not much of a music guy.
Barney:
Alex Hale, thanks so much for doing this and giving us a look behind who you are.
Great to meet you.
Another edition of Behind the Facemask with Alex Hale.
