Courtesy of BC Rugby. Head Coach of the BC Elite Youth Sevens program Shane Thompson has announced a series of ID Sessions for U16 and U15 athletes, starting with open trials in Abbotsford and Vancouver on February 21st. After a successful campaign in Las Vegas this past January that saw BC U18 and U17 athletes advance to the High School Elite Cup Final, Thompson will be looking to identify and develop the next batch of provincial sevens representatives.
The BCEY7’s is geared towards identifying and developing players who will be best prepared to represent Canada with distinction at future Olympic Games and World Cup tournaments.
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Thompson’s priority for the the players born in 1998 and ’99 will be to identify a core group of athletes this Spring to then assemble a roster for a potential tour to Germany’s Heidelberg Sevens, scheduled for June 7-8, 2014.
“There were several guys on this year’s BC-Gold team who had been to the Heidelberg Sevens when they were U16s,” said Thompson. “The tournament is a great way to introduce young athletes to international sevens and it’s a great tour for young players to experience.”
Thompson coached the invitational Howlers side on their 2012 Germany tour and his roster featured several standouts including Theo Sauder (Vancouver), George Barton (Duncan), Ben Scher (Vancouver) and Cole Keffer (North Vancouver).
“I plan to identify the next group of athletes that we can take to Germany and they will form the core of the U17 players in 2015 when we travel to Vegas, Hong Kong and host our Victoria International Sevens in July,” Thompson added.
The open ID Sessions for players born in 1998 and ’99 will kick off on the morning of Friday February 21st at Abbotsford’s Yale Secondary School. Thompson will then shift to UBC’s Wolfson Fields for a Vancouver session. Sunday March 2nd will see Thompson in Victoria with a final ID Session slated for Vancouver athletes at UBC on March 21st.
For more information on the BC Elite Youth Sevens program, contact Head Coach Shane Thompson atsthompson@bcrugby.com
Fraser Valley ID Session – Abbotsford:
Date: Friday, February 21,2014
Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm
Location: Yale Secondary School
Birth Years: 1998, 1999
Lower Mainland ID Session – Vancouver:
Date: Friday, February 21, 2014
Time: 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Location: Wolfson Fields, UBC
Birth Years: 1998, 1999
South Island ID Session – Victoria:
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2014
Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm
Location: Wallace Field, University of Victoria
Birth Years: 1998, 1999
Lower Mainland ID Session – Vancouver:
Date: Friday, March 21,2014
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Location: UBC : Wolfson Field, UBC
Birth Years: 1998, 1999
North Island ID Session- Details TBC
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