Two local football players will be gearing up with the province鈥檚 best in their age bracket for an upcoming tournament.
Michael Lane and Ryle Mabilog received confirmation from Football BC they will make up part of the U16 Team BC when it heads to Saskatchewan this summer. Teams from Manitoba and Saskatchewan will also compete. 聽
For the two local players, the process began at the beginning of February in Richmond, taking part in the combine for U16 players. Similar combines were in other communities including Langley, Prince George and Salmon Arm to test up-and-coming players.
Combines test football players in core skills to measure speed, strength and other attributes. For the Team BC combine, the players had to run a 40-yard dash, do a standing broad jump, toss a six-pound medicine ball while on their knees and perform a shuttle, which starts from a three-point stance and involves quick running but adds movements from side to side and touching the ground.
鈥淐oaches were saying, 鈥楪ood job, you had a good time,鈥欌�� Lane said.
Following the February combine, the two players were invited to a tryout camp in Coquitlam held over the May long weekend.
Lane鈥檚 father, Dave, had looked at the results for Michael鈥檚 position and was confident the team would offer a spot.
鈥淚 crunched all the numbers鈥�. Michael had the second-best results,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 knew he was probably going to get a call.鈥�
Lane went in with quarterback as his main position and defensive back as his secondary one. This past year, as a Grade 9 student, he was one of the younger players in the Howe Sound Secondary Sounders鈥� lineup.
For the camp, he was moved to his secondary position and will be playing for Team BC as a defensive back.
鈥淚 felt like I learned a lot,鈥� he said.
Mabilog鈥檚 primary position is defensive end. This past season, the Grade 8 student played for the Howe Sound Hitmen in the North Shore GSL Football League.
As a young player, he found himself squaring up against some big competition during the tryouts.
鈥淚 was going up against guys that were two times bigger than me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was actually the smallest defensive line there.鈥�
The factor he had working for him, he figures, was his speed.
Each player took a slightly different path to football, though each also plays other sports. Lane started flag football when he was seven or eight, then moved onto tackle football a few years ago. For Mabilog, this past year marks his first one on the gridiron.
Neither one points to any sports heroes as role models for their game but instead have looked to those around them in 麻豆社国产for inspiration.
鈥淚 learn from the coaches and the players in the past,鈥� Lane said.
The players fly out on June 29 for the roughly week-long event, and they鈥檙e hoping to find some sponsors to help with the costs of the trip.
Their first stop will be in Regina, where they will play Team South Saskatchewan. They also plan to catch the Riders-Argos鈥� game on June 30. Team BC will then head a couple of hours north to Saskatoon where they will play Team North Saskatchewan as well as Team Manitoba.
