THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – In partnership with Thunder Bay Minor Football Association, Football Manitoba is on the look for players for their provincial team in upcoming competitions.
This year is a first for the city in that the 2 Head Coaches for the provincial team are coming to town to see the potential recruits.
75 players from Grade 8 – 11 attended on Friday the first of a 2 day camp at the Lakehead University to prep for the ID process, running through drills and sharpening skills with coaches from minor football and the highschool teams.
On Saturday, the Head Coaches will then see what they’re made of – readying their invitations to attend phase 2 of the selection process which will take place in Winnipeg, late April.
“Excellent to have this opportunity, locally, for our players to showcase their skills at home for the Manitoba coaches,” says Ryan Bliznikas, Vice President of TBMFA (who also represents Thunder Bay on the provincial level as Vice President of Football Manitoba AND on the board of directors for Football Canada),
“Our players have a strong history of being named team captains, tournament MVPs with these teams, then going on to be selected as Team Canada All-Stars.”
Having the opportunity of programs allows the skills that are developed here locally to be seen on a much larger stage by the likes of USport and the CJFL, something that has been traditionally difficult in the past without the partnership with Football Manitoba. Strengthening the partnership between TBMFA and Football Manitoba has increased opportunities for players to increase their skills and reach.
This ID Camp weekend is a continuation from the Prep Camp held in February where players registered to run drills for several days culminating in a combine (a technical assessment measuring players abilities), during a banner year for TBMFA. The association has seen a record number of registrations for Spring Flag, has been selected to run a provincial team for High Performance U16 Boys Flag AND a High Performance U16 Girls Flag in addition to an upcoming First Down program in June for youth aged 4-8.
Best of luck to all the registrants from this weekend who do Thunder Bay proud with their dedication and performance within these provincial opportunities.
