dmont
05-29-2012, 08:32 PM
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Nice to see this. They probably have a snowball's chance, but it's good for the young guys' careers to get the advice and exposure.
Football at the junior level is in kind of a tough spot in the 21st century. With the development of university programs and the explosion of demand among workers and employers for undergraduate degrees, it would seem like the best football players would head to university and CIS ball at the first opportunity. The OFC is developing Varsity, Junior Varsity, Bantam, and Peewee divisions, that could be the way of the future for football clubs.
Preds shocked to get Argo invite
http://www.therecord.com/sports/article/733380--preds-shocked-to-get-argo-invite
Christine Rivet, Record staff
Tue May 29 2012
WATERLOO — A pair of Twin Cities Predators have been summoned to the Toronto Argos rookie camp this week, re-awakening football careers which were mostly dormant.
Now-graduated Preds kicker and punter Charles Smith said he received the Argos’ invitation with “genuine surprise, genuine shock”.
Preds rookie offensive lineman Hakem Thompson, 19, who hasn’t played a game in two years, said he was equally floored when Argos GM Jim Barker called him last week.
“I sure didn’t expect to be asked after two days of Preds training camp,” said the six-foot-three, 285-pounder, also from Waterloo.
The Canadian Junior Football League’s team management convinced Argos GM Jim Barker to attend the under-22 Preds’ spring camp earlier this month where he spotted Smith and Thompson.
Of course, the prospect of either cracking the CFL team’s lineup is remote, to say the least. But earning an invitation to their first pro camp has breathed new life into their football careers, the two said.
Smith and Thompson were to report to the Argos training camp at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus Tuesday night for an orientation meeting.The CFL team’s rookie camp opens Wednesday.
Smith, 23, had his varsity career cut short at the University of Guelph in 2008 when he was sidelined with a knee injury.
He never did find his way back into the Gryphons’ lineup.
But now that Smith has graduated from Guelph, he said he will enroll at Wilfrid Laurier University where he hopes to join the football Hawks for his remaining two years of eligibility.
Smith was named the Ontario Football Conference’s top punter and kicker after nailing a career best 47-yard field goal and posting a 43-yard average on punts with the Preds last summer.
“I don’t really get flustered under pressure,” said the even-keeled Smith, a graduate of Sir John A. Macdonald.
Thompson, who will enter his second year of a computer science and math program at Laurier in the fall, figured his academic course load was too demanding to allow for football.
But all that could change.
His plans to give up the game after a summer fling with the Predators have changed.
“Definitely, not now,” he said.
Of the 40 or so players attending the Argos rookie camp, 30 of those are expected to get an invitation to the team’s main, 75-player camp which opens Sunday.
“I’ll just have to show what I can do,” said Smith, who attended Sir John A. Macdonald in Waterloo.
“Everything is happening really fast – really fast,” Thompson said with a hearty laugh.
crivet@therecord.com
Nice to see this. They probably have a snowball's chance, but it's good for the young guys' careers to get the advice and exposure.
Football at the junior level is in kind of a tough spot in the 21st century. With the development of university programs and the explosion of demand among workers and employers for undergraduate degrees, it would seem like the best football players would head to university and CIS ball at the first opportunity. The OFC is developing Varsity, Junior Varsity, Bantam, and Peewee divisions, that could be the way of the future for football clubs.
Preds shocked to get Argo invite
http://www.therecord.com/sports/article/733380--preds-shocked-to-get-argo-invite
Christine Rivet, Record staff
Tue May 29 2012
WATERLOO — A pair of Twin Cities Predators have been summoned to the Toronto Argos rookie camp this week, re-awakening football careers which were mostly dormant.
Now-graduated Preds kicker and punter Charles Smith said he received the Argos’ invitation with “genuine surprise, genuine shock”.
Preds rookie offensive lineman Hakem Thompson, 19, who hasn’t played a game in two years, said he was equally floored when Argos GM Jim Barker called him last week.
“I sure didn’t expect to be asked after two days of Preds training camp,” said the six-foot-three, 285-pounder, also from Waterloo.
The Canadian Junior Football League’s team management convinced Argos GM Jim Barker to attend the under-22 Preds’ spring camp earlier this month where he spotted Smith and Thompson.
Of course, the prospect of either cracking the CFL team’s lineup is remote, to say the least. But earning an invitation to their first pro camp has breathed new life into their football careers, the two said.
Smith and Thompson were to report to the Argos training camp at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus Tuesday night for an orientation meeting.The CFL team’s rookie camp opens Wednesday.
Smith, 23, had his varsity career cut short at the University of Guelph in 2008 when he was sidelined with a knee injury.
He never did find his way back into the Gryphons’ lineup.
But now that Smith has graduated from Guelph, he said he will enroll at Wilfrid Laurier University where he hopes to join the football Hawks for his remaining two years of eligibility.
Smith was named the Ontario Football Conference’s top punter and kicker after nailing a career best 47-yard field goal and posting a 43-yard average on punts with the Preds last summer.
“I don’t really get flustered under pressure,” said the even-keeled Smith, a graduate of Sir John A. Macdonald.
Thompson, who will enter his second year of a computer science and math program at Laurier in the fall, figured his academic course load was too demanding to allow for football.
But all that could change.
His plans to give up the game after a summer fling with the Predators have changed.
“Definitely, not now,” he said.
Of the 40 or so players attending the Argos rookie camp, 30 of those are expected to get an invitation to the team’s main, 75-player camp which opens Sunday.
“I’ll just have to show what I can do,” said Smith, who attended Sir John A. Macdonald in Waterloo.
“Everything is happening really fast – really fast,” Thompson said with a hearty laugh.
crivet@therecord.com