Elite football camp

BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@transcontinental.ca

If you are a 14- to 17-year-old footballer, slap on your helmet and take that pigskin out for a spin, as Montreal Alouettes-backed Elite Football is now taking registration for its fourth annual football camp, to be held at Kirkland's Parc des Bénévoles from April 23 to 27.

"We have coaches that we bring from all over the CFL, like B.C., Winnipeg, Calgary, Montreal," said Alouettes right tackle Luke Fritz, who co-founded the program four years ago with his team's quarterback Anthony Calvillo. Unlike most football camps, he said, this one is absolutely free for anyone who registers. "It doesn't matter how much money you make," he added.

Over the course of five days, the 100 registrants will get to hear football tips from professional and amateur football coaches, engage in practice routines that they can later watch on film to learn about their mistakes, listen to different speeches from various guests about morals and ethics, and top it all off with a mock game on the last day.

Fritz said watching practice sessions on tape is a standard part for professional football teams, but most teenagers who come to the camp have not done that before. Almost all of those who watch the tapes learn not to repeat their mistakes, he added.

"It helps you with little things like if you missed your block, you know what steps to take to not do it again," said Marc Anthony Sheldon, 18, who was so enthused with the camp in his first year in 2005 that he signed up for the next two.

"We've heard from kids who have gotten into CEGEP football teams (after taking our camp)," said Fritz. Though Sheldon is not one of them, he is thinking of joining the Chateauguay Raiders at the junior level.

Even for those who do not continue with the sport, the camp is still a valuable chance to learn about the importance of charity, leadership, teamwork, and other important life skills, Fritz added.

For Sheldon, the camp became an opportunity to improve his French. A teacher or principal's note of approval is required in the application form for the camp. "My principal didn't want me to go because I had a failing grade in French," Sheldon said. However, attendance was so important to him that he wound up hiring a private tutor just to improve his skills. It worked to the point that he studies at Cégep du Vieux-Montréal in French now.

Sometimes, coaches at the camp end up learning too. "I don't speak French very well at all," Fritz confessed. During the first year of the camp, about 60 to 70 per cent of the kids were francophone, so it started off as a struggle. "By the end of the camp though, we were speaking our common language that was football," he said.

Registration is open until March 14. Head to www.elitefootball.org to submit an application form. A teacher or principals' brief explanatory note about your suitability for the camp is required.