Out of nearly 400 football players from across the province, two Sylvan Lake receivers are entering the final stage of selection for Team Alberta.
Cody Peever and Rueben Braitenback, receivers for the H.J. Cody Lakers, are the only two from Central Alberta to move on to this round of section.
Both players say being chosen to move on to this round of selection says something about the program they have gone through.
“When you look at the list of receivers they are mostly from Calgary or Edmonton, so I think it says something about Sylvan Lake for use to be chosen,” said Braitenback, a second year player with the Lakers.
Last year Peever went through the process and was selected to play with the U17 team.
This year he says he has had to up his game and work harder on the field.
“The competition is really strong this year, there are a lot of great players out there looking to be noticed,” Peever said.
The teammates say they are feeling the pressure and have been putting time in at the gym to be ready for the final round.
“It’s a little intimidating. There guys that come from bigs schools with great programs, and then there is us,” said Braintenback.
This is Braitenback’s first year trying out for Team Alberta and says he has had to up his game.
“I feel like I’m at a bit of a disadvantage because Cody has already been through all of this,” he said.
Peever, a rookie on the Lakers, said the tryout are very organized and show off the amazing talents from Alberta, adding the competition has felt very strong this year.
The receivers are expecting the next round of tryouts to be more competitive and offer more one-on-one coaching.
Both Peever and Braintenback are trying for the U18 team this year. If selected, the two will play for Team Alberta at the Football Canada Cup in Vancouver later this summer.
The next stage of tryouts was scheduled to take place in the beginning of April in Calgary, however due to the COVID-19 the tryout has been rescheduled for a later date that has yet to be determined.