The 2016 Senior Bowl football showdown up in Edmonton this long weekend will have a distinct Red Deer flavour this year as four players and a coach from Hunting Hills High School will be on the squad.
The game pits the best 42 players who tried out for the squad from the north schools against the top 42 from the south.
“These are all graduating high school players and this is their last kick at the can,” said Greg Thompson who will make the trip as the offensive coordinator for the North team. It’s the fourth time he’s gone to the game flying the colours of Hunting Hills.
Thompson says there were about 160 athletes trying out in April representing teams from Red Deer all the way to High Level and Grande Prairie.
The Lightning players making the team are offensive lineman Travis Derksen, defensive end Colt Maddock, running back Brandt Burzuk and running back Kaden Hall who will suit up as a corner at this game.
Thompson likes the fact he’s surrounded by high-end athletes at the Senior Bowl with many of them headed for university or junior football teams in the near future-including the four players from the Lightning
“They’re solid individuals and fun to coach,” he said. “They’re guys that you can’t bounce anything off of them that they won’t get.”
The camp is set up so the players arrive the Friday for two practices to kick off the long weekend followed by two more Saturday, two on Sunday and then the game is Monday.
“In that time frame you pretty much have to install an entire offence, special team’s package and defence package,” he said.
Thompson says the schemes they put together are all based on the athletes you have that year so it can range from very basic to a little more intricate. The key is getting everyone to buy in to what you are doing.
“If you can execute, if you can do everything well you will have success,” he said.
He says after it’s all said and done the players get to know each other as team mates as well as maybe learning something about the game from other coaches. They also get a weekend full of fun and football with a chance to put an exclamation mark on their high school career with a win over the south.
“It gives them a look at what they can sort of expect at the next level going into their fall or spring camps if they haven’t had those yet.”
This game has been going on for more than four decades and Thompson figures the South has a one game lead in the series. A win is still the goal.
“We’ve got some good athletes and they’ve got some good ones.”
Two teams. One game. Pride on the line. It’s how it should be.
