Matt Walter announced his retirement last week after five seasons in the CFL.

Walter spent the vast majority of his career in his hometown of Calgary including four seasons with the Stampeders before signing with Saskatchewan and playing six games for the Roughriders in 2016.

Before turning pro, the running back starred at Bishop O’Byrne high school and then became the University of Calgary’s all-time leading rusher.

Walter was a fifth-round draft pick of the Stamps in 2011 and he joined the team in 2012. He played 59 career regular-season games — including 14 starts — for Calgary and accumulated 1,264 rushing yards and four touchdowns as well as 28 receptions for 217 yards. He was also a contributor on special teams with 11 tackles and eight kickoff returns for 160 yards.

The University of Calgary product appeared in eight post-season contests and was a member of the Stamps’ 2014 Grey Cup-winning team.

After announcing his retirement, he was an in-studio guest at Global Calgary and shared his thoughts with reporter Brendan Parker. Here are excerpts of his comments:

On retirement

“It feels really good. I think if you talk to a lot of guys who play professional sports, it’s a really tough process just letting go. It’s like dealing with a loss, so you grieve and you go through a process and it’s difficult. But once you get through it, there’s light on the other side. I think coaching and being around kids really helped pull me through it. I feel like I’m in a great place and, looking back, there’s nothing but gratitude. It was awesome to play in Calgary for most of my career. It was good times.”

On playing in the CFL

“I didn’t think I would make it, first of all. Even when I was in university, I thought, ‘There’s no chance of making pro.’ But then you just build on little pieces of momentum here and there. Then I got drafted. Going to the Grey Cup in 2012 was an amazing experience and winning in 2014 was like a dream come true. I think you’ll hear guys talking about that team for a long time because we had something special there. I’m just glad I was able to be a part of it.”

On what he most remembers about the Grey Cup win in 2014

“When the clock finally went down to zero, that feeling of, ‘All right, we just won this. No one’s going to take this away from us.’ For us players, it means a lot. For the guys who played and for a lot of Canadians and people who love the sport, it’s a really glorious, glorious moment. I made sure I made the most of it.”

On how he’s staying involved in football

“I’m on the board for the Calgary Broncos midget football association, so I’m just helping Joe Swift, who’s running it. I’m helping make sure these come kids come out and actually play because a lot of them don’t really know about football but if they did and they’re able to play, you can help them (stay out of trouble). When they find football, they can turn their life around. Just working with kids brings energy back and I can’t help just running around with them. Once you give up the sport, you might feel you’re not worth much anymore or that you don’t have as important of a purpose, but giving back to kids just brings it all back and makes it all worthwhile.”