Colour him impressed.
Mind you, Gino Castellan has seen the best that Alberta has to offer in the Football Canada Cup for the last 17 years, so his assertion that the 2013 edition is a talented and potentially explosive squad should come as no surprise.
“Alberta produces good football players. We’ve been in the running (Canada Cup championship contention) almost every year,” Castellan said Sunday morning as the Alberta crew — consisting of the premier high school players in the province — went through their paces at Notre Dame High School.
“We’ve won six national championships in the last 16 years. It’s good to see these kids go out and play and a lot of them you’ll see in the CFL in five to six years.”
Castellan, the long-time head coach of the Notre Dame Cougars, was a member of the Team Alberta coaching staff before becoming the club’s manager 10 years ago.
Team Alberta lost the 2012 final to Quebec and will be looking for redemption in this year’s Football Canada Cup set for July 15-22 at Moncton, N.B.
“This is a different team than last year, with different strengths,” said Castellan. “Our offence, I think, is going to be pretty good. From what I see, in terms of our quarterbacks, running backs and receivers . . . that’s a pretty good group of kids with some good talent.
“If we put up some points and our defence plays tough, we’ll be in all of our games.”
The provincial high school team practised Friday and Sunday at Notre Dame and worked out Saturday at MEGlobal Athletic Park in Lacombe.
The team consists of 40 players who were picked from a group of 115 athletes who attended the selection camp May 10-12 at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium.
The roster includes offensive linemen T.J. Sloboda of Sylvan Lake and Notre Dame’s Joe McQuay.
Sloboda, a six-foot-five, 260-pound tackle, is convinced that his outright love of football earned him a berth on the provincial team.
“I want to say my passion for the game was my biggest strength (at the selection camp),” he said. “I really want to excel in this game and I’m excited about the Canada Cup challenge.”
Sloboda is pursuing an athletic scholarship to a school above or below the international border.
“I’d like to go to university, so this is going to be a huge opportunity for me to get scouted,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to going to university either in Canada or the U.S. That would probably happen next year (2014), I might have to work a year to raise some funds.”
Sloboda credited the coaching staff of the Sylvan Lake H.J. Cody Lakers high school team for properly preparing him for his personal success to date and the challenges that lay ahead.
“Our O-line coach, Jas Payne, is great,” he said. “He’s taught me a whole bunch. The offensive line has always been a strong part of the Lakers team.”
McQuay, meanwhile, credits Castellan for helping him develop as a player and remain focused.
“Gino has been fantastic as a coach and he’s kept me in the gym a lot and helped me out during spring camp,” said the six-foot-five center.
Castellan will have the all-star lineman back for another season. McQuay, who is finishing Grade 11, plans to attend the University of Alberta in 2014.