International coaches were impressed with the level of talent displayed by junior and senior players at the combine that was held by professional football player Karl McCartney at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex this past Saturday. This was McCartney's third time hosting the combine, and Commonwealth American Football League (CAFL) and Bahamas Flag Football League (BFFL) Commissioner Mel Ferguson said that every year it continues to improve.
"This is really a good service that Karl is doing, as far as getting the kids involved, so anytime that he reaches out to us we will try our best to assist him," Ferguson said. "It's a good cause that he's doing it for. I think that with the exposure that the younger players will have with some new skills and techniques, it only benefits both the contact and flag leagues. I truly believe that we have some players playing in both leagues who can play football at the next level and something like this further improves their skills."
Along with Saturday's combine, McCartney also hosted players' and coaches' seminars on Thursday and Friday at the Crab House on Collins Avenue. McCartney said that he was pleased with the player turnouts on Friday and Saturday, but was a little disappointed in the number of local coaches that showed up on Thursday night.
"On Friday night, we had about 30 guys come out, but on Thursday there were about six or seven coaches," said McCartney. "Hopefully next time that number will be tripled. Some of it is on me because I got the word out a little late, so in the future I will have to be more organized."
Commissioner Ferguson was somewhat displeased with the poor attendance on Thursday.
"Although a number of officials came out, it was very disappointing that we didn't see more coaches come out, however the players came out in droves," he said.
On the field, the coaches took the athletes through a series of drills including vertical shuttles, broad jumps and 40-50 yard dashes. Participants were then divided into positions and executed one-on-one drills for the coaches. About three hours were spent on drills and positioning.
"I hope that the guys really take in all the advice given to them during the sessions so that they can pass them down to other players. I think because of this, the league (CAFL) should get a lot better. Football is all about reaction and after this, these guys will be a lot sharper. My ultimate thing would be to see one of these guys playing with me during the Canadian Football League (CFL) season," said McCartney.
McCartney, 27, is a member of the Calgary Stampeders team that won the CFL's Grey Cup last November. The Bahamian defensive player was selected in the fifth round (37th overall) of the 2010 CFL Draft and signed on May 20, 2010. Last season, he played in 11 games and had 11 defensive tackles, including a tackle for loss. He also had a sack, a fumble recovery and 14 special teams tackles.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
