SUBMITTED PHOTO
Five of the eight Medicine Hat athletes on the Alberta Selects roster pose for a photo in San Antonio, Tex. during the International Border War involving teams from the U.S., Canada and Mexico on Feb. 23-26.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Medicine Hat football talents were able to get better in the offseason and experience new styles of the game while playing for Alberta Selects.
Eight Medicine Hat high school football players were part of the Alberta Selects team competing in the International Border War tournament involving teams from the U.S., Canada and Mexico in San Antonio, Tex. on Feb. 23-26.
McCoy Colts head coach Jole Krassman is on the Alberta Selects coaching staff but did not make the trip to Texas. But the feedback he’s heard from his players and the growth they’ve shown is exciting him as they look toward next season and growing the game in the city.
“It’s building great football players, getting all the schools together and it’s given them the opportunity to get that extra look from all these different coaches and networking with people around the province,” Krassman said. “It’s a really big motivational tool, I’ve seen it with my three athletes that are attending this camp. They have just started to strive, they’re becoming natural leaders in the weight room in the offseason training. They’re heading up us cleaning up the sheds and the community involvement stuff that we’re doing as a team. It’s just creating leadership and a new found motivation for football.”
The Medicine Hat participants were: Wyatt Mills, Mason Scory and Thomas Herrington from McCoy, Ira Hozack and James Comstock from Hat High. Carter McClain and Finn Unger from Crescent Heights and Calin Messmer from St. Mary’s.
Mills says he enjoyed getting to experience the faster style of football from the American and Mexican teams, something he says will make him better.
“It was a really good experience,” Mills said. “I learned a lot and it just taught me about a different level about football.
“I’ve seen their work and now I know where I could be and where I can get up to.”
Scory spent the season at quarterback for the Colts but was able to experience defensive back while playing in San Antonio. A change of pace and positioning he hopes to build off.
“I really enjoyed it and it’ll definitely be a position I will be playing (next year), Scory said. Like sure, I still love quarterback, so I’m looking for the opportunity to do both on my high school team.”
He described the play in the games as flashier than in Alberta, which provided a contrast for them when they faced a Canadian team.
“Playing American teams compared to playing the Canadian game, it was a lot faster in a way but they also weren’t turning around the ball as much,” Story said. “They were trying to get big passing plays off. But then when we played Saskatchewan in the final, they were just trying to pound the ball in our face and all they did was run it down our throat.”
Herrington’s favourite part of the camp and the experience was the coaching they received and how he’s been given the lessons needed to get better.
“All the practices we had and the coaching we went through was really, really good,” Herrington said. “That changed my game the most, just the way the coaches would work with you, there was so much time and money put towards just, like, really developing all the players and working on their specific positions. I think it really helped me a lot as a player, I learned several new skills, a lot of new drills that I can work on at home to better myself. Just a lot of aspects that really go into giving everybody a new way of getting better at football.”
The Alberta Selects team has tryouts on Saturday for their upcoming camp. More information can be found on their website, selectsfootball.com
