Complements are appreciated wherever they come from, but when they originate from a little further away they sometimes seem to carry a little more weight.
That’s how it might be shaping up for Ethan Wedel, at least.
In the several years he’s been playing football it’s obvious how seriously he takes the game. From his coach the reviews on his work ethic and team play have been uniformly positive.
So it’s a pleasing development Ethan would be selected to be part of the upcoming Senior Bowl Football extravaganza, but, given the level of his personal commitment, it would be hard to call it that big of a surprise.
Edward Milne Community School Wolverines head coach Matt Mortenson was the one who informed the Sooke News Mirror of Ethan’s achievement on February 25.
“Nice to see football at EMCS starting to pay off for players,” said Mortenson via email. “Ethan one of the hardest working players I have ever coached, a real team player who has dedicated years to training. I hope the younger players learn from Ethan and follow in his footsteps. He sure deserves this. I’m very proud of what he has accomplished.”
The Senior Bowl experience, as described on its website, is an annual camp run by Football BC for players who will be graduating from high school in June of that year. The camp is held during the week of Spring Break and culminates with a game at the conclusion of the week.
The purpose of the camp is to encourage the players, who are among the best 17-year-old players from across British Columbia, to continue their playing careers following high school graduation whether it is in Midget (Community), Junior or University.
The 2011 Senior Bowl camp will begin on Tuesday, March 22 and end with the game on Saturday, March 26.
Dino Geremia, technical director of Football BC, was contacted for some input as to why Ethan had joined the ranks of those selected for the Senior Bowl.
“Ethan Wedel is a player who was first noticed when he tried out last year for Team BC,” Geremia began.
“He performed well at the tryout and was invited to the Team BC minicamp in the spring of 2010.
“He did not make the team but impressed and certainly has some great attribites. He is a good receiver with great height and range and has deceiving speed with his long strides.”
This is the sort of result that validates the hours of hard work and sacrifice put in by driven young men like Ethan, who says he was very happy to get the news, and excited about what’s coming up over on the Mainland.
“At this year’s tryout he stood out as one of the top receivers and should show well in a camp with the best grade 12 players from throughout the province,” Geremia concluded.
Selection camps have been held at Simon Fraser University, Kelowna Abbotsford, Victoria and Prince George with coaches from each local area helping Team BC and Senior Bowl Coaches at each tryout.
Mark Townsend from Mt. Doug High School evaluated the receivers at this year’s evaluation in Victoria.
