This December, the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) will be holding a series of football combines in eight cities across the province to showcase top high school-level recruits in front of college-level scouts.
The combines, which will feature numerous physical tests of athleticism and football-related drills, give high school players a chance to show their skill in front of interested university-level coaches, according to OUA CEO Gord Grace.
The series will kick off in Ottawa at Gee-Gee Field on Dec. 9th, where the Ravens team staff will get a chance to see the recruits.
Ravens head football coach Steve Sumarah said this is a way to compare top players.
“[It’s] a good way to narrow down the amount of kids out there and the amount of football being played out there,” he said. “We basically get an opportunity to be able to compare the best players in one area.”
Each combine will be three hours in length, during which athletes will be tested repeatedly on their physical speed, strength, agility, and endurance.
Common combine drills include the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, bench press rep test, and agility shuttle in the National Football League. The aim of these drills is to showcase athleticism over actual in-game play. In addition to the testing, the athletes will have a chance to meet with teams at the combine.
Having already been familiar with some players, the combines give the coaches an idea as to how they play in person, and how they could fit in to the Ravens program, according to Sumarah.
“You’ve heard of kids, now you get a chance to compare them,” he said. “I’ll be able to see who fits our system that we can recruit.”
Though players will be coming together from all over Ontario, Sumarah said he is looking forward to see the recruits from the Ottawa region.
“I think there’s a lot of good kids across this province for sure, specifically in Ottawa,” he said.
According to the OUA, the series will also be mandatory to join the Team Ontario team at the high school level. In order to receive an invitation to the Jan. 2015 Team Ontario tryout camp, players must first attend one of these combines.
After its debut in Ottawa, the series will move on to Sudbury, Aurora, Oakville, Windsor, Toronto, Niagara, and Guelph. The final combine takes place Dec. 20th.
