PRAcTicE MAkES PERfEcT
Bo Levi Mitchell & Deron Mayo ignite spirit of football in summer academy
There might not be one specific secret to becoming an allstar in football, but there are definitely a few tricks of the trade that can help a young player get there someday.
At least, that’s how Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and linebacker Deron Mayo see things, and when you consider their credentials it’s a little hard to argue that they wouldn’t know.
Mitchell and Mayo both grew up in football cultures where there were camps yearround helping aspiring athletes work on their craft and improve for when the season came along.
When they arrived in Calgary and realized that local football players didn’t really have the same opportunities, the two Stamps stars got to thinking about how they might change that.
What they came up with was the Ignite Football Academy, which will be holding three camps throughout the next couple weeks for young players aiming to pick up on the habits and techniques that will get them to the legitimately elite level.
“When I did start playing football at 17-years-old, I would attend several camps and we basically played year round,” Mayo said.
“That’s kind of what made me good at my craft. If you don’t get that exposure … it’s not necessarily that difficult to be the best on your team, but when you put yourself around the best from around your city or state or country, that’s when you really elevate your game.”
While several of their teammates head to Winnipeg for CFL Week, Mitchell and Mayo will be hosting a Skills Camp this weekend — for younger kids in the morning and in the afternoon for older aspiring athletes — and there will be a Big Man Camp and a Kicking Camp on April 7-8, as well.
While the camps are open to any young football player looking to improve, the Stamps players are especially encouraging of “elite-level players” sign-ing up.
“We can take those kids and give them an extra step and an extra skill-set and really take those kids and possibly get these kids college scholarships and get those kids to the NFL Draft,” Mitchell said.
“But if there’s kids that want to learn football and give it and actually try, they’re absolutely welcome.
We want to build amateur football in Canada, but starting with Calgary … It’s not Football 101, but for the kids who do want to learn football and want to come out there and see the way we work and the way we do things, they’re absolutely welcome.”
Seeing how the pros actually do things is a big part of the appeal of the Ignite Football Academy.
The list of coaches includes Mayo and Mitchell themselves, as well as a whole host of their teammates.
As Mayo explained, the CFL stars are looking to pass on some of the secrets that got them to the level where they’re playing — and starring — on a Stampeders team that is a perennial Grey Cup contender.
A lot of it is hard work, sure, but there’s more to it than that.
“That 15 or 20 years of experience that some of us have been playing at this level, it’s the difference between basic fundamentals and the all-star level of doing things,” Mayo said.
“That’s why we’re providing all-star level coaching because they’re not all-stars by accident.
“They know something that other players around the league don’t know. That’s why we’re providing the highest grade of coaches that we can.”