WAKAW — Wakaw School will be hosting this year’s CanAm Bowl.
The Canadian-rules six-man football game will see an all-star team of graduating high school football players from Saskatchewan and Alberta face off against one from the US.
Darryl Dickson, the coach of Team Canada and the co-coach of the Wakaw football team, said the plan is to host a night game when the two teams face off against each other July 6.
“From a community standpoint, it’s going to be awesome to host an event like this in our community,” he said. “We've got amazing volunteers and this community rallies behind the school – always has – so that's going to be a really good opportunity to bond.”
Recruitment has begun for Team Canada, with registration packages out and scouts planning to attend the Saskatchewan Senior Bowl and the Alberta All Star weekend.
“We’re also going to be hosting a camp in Saskatoon on the weekend of July 1 and 2. It will be an opportunity to put all the prospects together and have a look at those kids,” Dickson said.
The camp will be an opportunity to see how the recruits interact with each other.
The game will also be an opportunity to showcase Wakaw football players.
“I'm guessing we're going to have potentially three to as many as seven boys possibly make this team, and that's really exciting for our local community, to know that those kids are on the level of the best,” Dickson said.
All of the Wakaw football team will also get to see the calibre of play the Americans bring to the table
“It's a different world down there, when it comes to football,” Dickson said, adding later that US players are encouraged to train hard to be on the team. “There’s nothing that they don't do well. They hit hard, they tackle real well, real low.
“I've been involved in quite a few of these games as a coach and every time I've had the American kids up, my own kids have been able to see it.”
That said, the coach said Team Canada is planning to win. Historically, Canada has won four bowls to the Americans’ 18.
“I know we can compete with them, but at the same time when we have our kids here July 2 to the game on the 6th, we're going to be drilling in these guys that they've got to get low, they can't, miss tackles because that's what the Americans are going to bring.”
The game will also serve as a fundraiser for the Wakaw football team.
