Two members of the Concordia Stingers will represent Canada at the Team USA vs. the World international football challenge Jan. 30 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The game will match a World team composed of the best players aged 19 and under selected from International Federation of American Football (IFAF) member countries against 45 of the top high school seniors from the United States.
Versatile linebacker/defensive back Christian Walcott will be on the international team’s roster. Head coach Jan Jenmert of Sweden and his coaching staff selected 43 players from eight countries and four continents to face USA Football’s junior national team.
Walcott is a second-year International Business student from Markham, Ont. In 2009, he played eight regular season games for the Stingers, collecting 31 solo tackles and nine assists. He was the third leading tackler on Concordia..
The World team roster is comprised of players representing American Samoa (2), Australia (1), Canada (31), France (1), Germany (1), Japan (3), Mexico (1) and Sweden (3) who were selected from a provisional list of 100 players nominated by IFAF federations. They will practise nine times while in Fort Lauderdale from Jan. 24-29.
Concordia defensive co-ordinator Warren Craney of Kirkland, Que. will assume the same role with the World team. He is now in his 11th season with the Concordia Stingers and his ninth as defensive co-ordinator. He has coached all three defensive units at Concordia, and is widely respected for his work with linebackers. He has also coached with Team Quebec and Team Canada.
