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The stage is set for the biggest game in the young football careers of Payton Hall and Mathew Wallace.
On Jan. 8 in San Antonio, Texas, they will suit up for Team Canada against an American squad in the Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl, an all-star game for players under 15. The game is played in conjunction with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game. Both games are organized by a development group, Football University.
For Wallace and Hall, the anticipation is building.
"It's insane,'' said Wallace, a Grade 10 offensive lineman from Balfour Collegiate. "It is a little bit scary going in thinking that there are people representing your country, but I think as soon as I get down there, the fear is going to go away and I'll just try to focus on my job and help the team.
"I'm hoping that going down and playing against some people that are the best in the U.S. is going to help me along, because when you play against the best of the best, it is the only way that you are going to improve.''
Hall - a Grade 9 defensive back from Campbell Collegiate - and Wallace are to leave for Texas on Jan. 4.
"I think it will be fun to play the American rules,'' Hall said. "It will be different from what we are used to here in Canada. It will be a good challenge and a good experience."
The team is coached by Len Antonini, the vice-president of Regina Minor Football. Antonini organized the FBU tryout camp in May, which is when Hall and Wallace were recruited to the team.
Of Hall, Antonini said: "He is a quick kid that really understands the game. He has been playing against grade 11 and 12s for this whole year and he doesn't look out of place there at all."
As for the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Wallace, Antonini said: "He is a big kid with great feet. Those are the type of kids that you need down there."
Antonini coached last year's Canadian team - which included Regina's Atlee Simon - to a 42-37 victory and is excited for another opportunity to participate in the game.
"I've never represented my country in any sport before," he said. "To represent your country and go down and have an opportunity to coach a game like that and end up beating them in Texas, at their game, it was unbelievable."
Antonini said that FBU holds camps throughout Canada, which is what makes the selections of Hall and Wallace all the more special.
"When you take a look at Saskatchewan, we have one million people and places like Ontario have 14 million,'' he noted. "A couple kids coming from here, that is pretty good numbers when we only take 28 kids down. It shows that our football here in Saskatchewan is second to none in Canada.
"Our top kids are as good as their top kids down there, even though they are drawn from 10 times the number of kids that we draw from.''
Numbers aside, Antonini said that having two players from Regina representing Canada in this game shows the promise that football in Saskatchewan possesses.
"If you are being realistic, most of the kids in Saskatchewan will end up playing in Saskatchewan," Antonini said. "We have great CIS programs and great junior programs here, but this just gives them another chance to be looked at by other guys. At the end of the day, it improves the kids. When you play against the best kids in Canada or play against the best kids in North America, you can't help but get better."
On Jan. 8 in San Antonio, Texas, they will suit up for Team Canada against an American squad in the Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl, an all-star game for players under 15. The game is played in conjunction with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game. Both games are organized by a development group, Football University.
For Wallace and Hall, the anticipation is building.
"It's insane,'' said Wallace, a Grade 10 offensive lineman from Balfour Collegiate. "It is a little bit scary going in thinking that there are people representing your country, but I think as soon as I get down there, the fear is going to go away and I'll just try to focus on my job and help the team.
"I'm hoping that going down and playing against some people that are the best in the U.S. is going to help me along, because when you play against the best of the best, it is the only way that you are going to improve.''
Hall - a Grade 9 defensive back from Campbell Collegiate - and Wallace are to leave for Texas on Jan. 4.
"I think it will be fun to play the American rules,'' Hall said. "It will be different from what we are used to here in Canada. It will be a good challenge and a good experience."
The team is coached by Len Antonini, the vice-president of Regina Minor Football. Antonini organized the FBU tryout camp in May, which is when Hall and Wallace were recruited to the team.
Of Hall, Antonini said: "He is a quick kid that really understands the game. He has been playing against grade 11 and 12s for this whole year and he doesn't look out of place there at all."
As for the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Wallace, Antonini said: "He is a big kid with great feet. Those are the type of kids that you need down there."
Antonini coached last year's Canadian team - which included Regina's Atlee Simon - to a 42-37 victory and is excited for another opportunity to participate in the game.
"I've never represented my country in any sport before," he said. "To represent your country and go down and have an opportunity to coach a game like that and end up beating them in Texas, at their game, it was unbelievable."
Antonini said that FBU holds camps throughout Canada, which is what makes the selections of Hall and Wallace all the more special.
"When you take a look at Saskatchewan, we have one million people and places like Ontario have 14 million,'' he noted. "A couple kids coming from here, that is pretty good numbers when we only take 28 kids down. It shows that our football here in Saskatchewan is second to none in Canada.
"Our top kids are as good as their top kids down there, even though they are drawn from 10 times the number of kids that we draw from.''
Numbers aside, Antonini said that having two players from Regina representing Canada in this game shows the promise that football in Saskatchewan possesses.
"If you are being realistic, most of the kids in Saskatchewan will end up playing in Saskatchewan," Antonini said. "We have great CIS programs and great junior programs here, but this just gives them another chance to be looked at by other guys. At the end of the day, it improves the kids. When you play against the best kids in Canada or play against the best kids in North America, you can't help but get better."
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