Bryn Roy Football Combine returns to Strathmore for third year

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County’s Bryn Roy, who once played in the CFL, returned to Strathmore, Dec 10-11, to host another football workshop for aspiring young athletes. 

This year marks the sixth that Roy has hosted his combine, and the third time it has been hosted at the Strathmore Motor Products Sports Centre. The workshop was previously hosted in Okotoks. 

“The focal point of my combine is to help all Alberta athletes, but especially with an emphasis on rural Alberta,” said Roy. “That was me. I grew up here, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to get noticed or recruited by nationally ranked schools in the US or nationally ranked schools in Canada. We don’t get the exposure as often.”

Roy explained when he started the combine, he had 12 partner schools on board, which equated to friends of his within the football community.

Currently, according to Roy, his combine is now supported by every junior program in Canada, as well as several in the US, totalling over 50 university programs.

For those who don’t age out of the target demographic, he said there are many attending athletes who are returning to the combine for another round of training. Additionally, a large number of athletes who trained at previous combines have since been recruited to play for various post-secondary institutions.

“In the last five that we’ve had, we’ve had 42 athletes who have come through our combine, and (now) they’re playing at the next level,” said Roy. “When kids see that, and when parents see that, the proof is in the pudding of the athletes who we’ve been able to help progress their careers.”

The combine is largely targeted to athletes who are of high school age, however, this year it was opened up to those in Grades 8-9 as well.

The goal overall, he said, is to give students and young athletes an opportunity to be scouted and recruited, as well as to be evaluated in an industry-standard setting in order to properly prepare them to continue their careers.

“I know firsthand how hard it is to get recruited … we just don’t have the proper scouting and stuff, so because of that, there are not a lot of events in the country – especially out here,” said Roy. “Because of that, you get a lot of very good athletes who are getting themselves ready to go to the next level, but have never been properly trained in the tests and the drills that are used to evaluate talent across the board.”

Previously, the combine was hosted on a single day and put attendees through the ringer all at once. This year, an additional day was added in order to give the athletes a day to prepare and become familiar with what was expected of them, before they were required to give their all on day two.

Although the first day was not intended expressly to evaluate and record results, scouts were present to observe the athletes.

In all, Roy said roughly 50 athletes were in attendance from across Alberta, with significant representation from Strathmore and across Wheatland County.

“The thing about events like this is that they catapult careers … if I give any, any local kid, any advice at all is to go to as many camps and outings as you can and get as much exposure as you can,” said Roy. “Without that exposure, it just makes your goals that much harder to attain if you are trying to play at the next level.”