Learning from the best

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

When football season returns in the fall, Strathmore High School Spartan receiver Isaiah Simwamu, who is in Grade 11, will be ready for whatever comes his way.
Simwamu and two other Spartan players – quarterback Isaac Wegner and receiver Mason Phillips – were nominated by their coaches to partake in the Dave Dickenson Passing Academy. The academy was a six-week program that ran in February, during which Calgary Stampeders’ head coach Dave Dickenson helped to improve the skills of young football players.
“It was the best camp ever,” said Simwamu. “I learned a lot and I am a much better receiver now.”
The three Spartan players met with some of the Stampeders, including Bo Levi Mitchell and retired star running back Jon Cornish, who helped to pass on their skills.
On his website, Dickenson said he felt his camps made a difference in the young players’ lives, helping them to play better and have better football seasons. He explained his goal for the academy was to try to get college scholarships for these players to play football in a higher education setting.
Wegner, who is also in Grade 11, said the camp went well as they were taught by people who knew the game really well and were able to pass on their own knowledge to the youngsters.
“Leaving the camp and going back to play with your team you just have better chemistry with your team,” he said. “You are all learning the same techniques at the same level and that just really helps everyone who has gone to perform better playing among each other especially.”
The Spartan coaches nominated Simwamu because he had improved over the last season and he shared what he learned at the academy with the Spartan team during their spring camp.
He hopes to concentrate on upgrading his schoolwork next year so he can be eligible to play football for more elite schools, and would eventually like to play in the Canadian Football League one day.