Mexican-born kicker Aldo Galvan pursues success with the University of Regina Rams football club
REGINA, Saskatchewan — The University of Regina Rams former head coach Steve Bryce loved to keep an open mind when scouting for new prospects. So after a memorable experience coaching Mexican football players on his team at Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga in California, Bryce decided to seek out new prospects for the University of Regina Rams Football Club in Mexico. As , 鈥淔ootball is a fast-growing sport there, there鈥檚 no shortage of talent.鈥�
Describing Mexican football players as talented, disciplined, aggressive and hard-working, the Rams head coach presented two Mexican-born players — Aldo Galvan and Steven Zambrano — to CFL officials and eventually signed them on his team in 2018. Although Zambrano was redshirted that season, Galvan was made to handle the team鈥檚 place kicks and punts.
The 5-foot-11 Regina Rams kicker Galvan is a Mexico native from Mexico City. Currently, he is in his third year at the University of Regina in the faculty of kinesiology and health studies.
Galvan was also a kicker while playing with the Bucaneros de Satelite team in Mexico for five seasons before joining the Rams. His contributions at the Naucalpan-based club, located northwest of Mexico City, helped secure a silver medal at the 2018 IFAF U19 World Championship.
Aldo Galvan joined the U of R football team in 2018 and didn鈥檛 delay in making his impact felt. In September of that year, Galvan helped the team win the game against the Thunderbirds when he kicked a game-winner.
He scored four field goals in the game against Alberta in October 2018. Later that same month, he scored a 45-yard field goal at Calgary (his longest that season). By the end of the season, the Regina Rams had 63 scoring points, out of which Galvan scored 21.
As the primary punter and placekicker, he made history going 20-for-20 on extra points and scoring a total of 73 points to rank second in Canada West. He punted 57 times, averaging 35.4 yards per punt, and upgraded with a 52-yard punt at Calgary. From a 57.0 yards average, Galvan succeeded in kicking off 30 times.
The Mexican-born kicker, who weighs 200 pounds, was one of the 18 Rams Football players who were awarded Academic All-Canadians for the 2019-20 season. He became the primary punter for the Rams with eight games that season after punting 58 times at an average of 36.5 yards for each punt. At Alberta, Galvan had a 52-yarder along with two punts of more than 50 yards.
He was on top of field goals during the first six games in 2019 and, when he went to UBC, he had a season-long 43-yarder and went 12-for-20 on field goals on the year. By the end of the 2019 season with the Regina Rams, Galvan led the team with 56 points, including 12聽 field goals, eight singles, and 12 PATs.
So far in his career with the Regina Rams, he has played eight games in 2018, eight in 2019, and two in 2021. Meanwhile, his field goals statistics show a field goal percentage of 70.83 in 2018, 60 in 2019, and 66.67 in 2021. In these three seasons spent with the Rams, he has a total of 31 made goals on 47 attempts.
The 2021 season has been remarkable for Galvan after missing the entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the Rams returned to play in September, the team鈥檚 kicker recorded one tackle in the game at Manitoba, and 12 punt attempts for 503 yards and an average of 41.92. Earlier in October, he contributed two field goals to the Regina Rams鈥� 34-21 victory against the Calgary Dinos at Mosaic Stadium.
Bryce was right about the Mexican-born kicker when , 鈥淚 had him do some kicking…and we could tell in five minutes that he was head and shoulders the best guy available. He had five-second hang time on punts and he even hit a couple of 60-yard field goals.鈥澛�
Galvin, who chose to play American-style football just like his father did, has been an asset to the Rams. He is looking at becoming a professional footballer. As he so , 鈥淚n a few years, I might be a famous kicker.鈥�
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