Do you know "Michael Calvert"??

With the BC High School Football playoffs about to start, I want to introduce one outstanding player named Michael Calvert, who belongs to the defending champion South Delta Sun Devils. The reason why my attention was grabbed is I was overwhelmed by his prominent performance as a quarterback (he is one of a few players on the team that plays QB). The quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team and the most glorified and scrutinized position on each team. I must say, as a player, I found Michael to be a great role model.

 

 

Let me tell you the game I watched back on October 24. Before the game, I heard a little about him from my manager, Daniel, saying that he was well-known for being a skilled player among BC High School Football. So, it was very exciting for me to focus on his play. In the meantime, I was a little worried about him because I thought he always had to live up to huge expectations, which caused him a lot of pressure. However, once I watched his performance a few times during the game, I changed my perspective because he looked like he accepted the responsibility and excelled in his role. At the same time, he reminded me of my previous teammate.

When I belonged to a soccer team in high school, our team had one of the most talented and famous players in my prefecture. He was always checked hard by the other teams’ most aggressive players but, amazingly, he would always evade them and score goals much to the delight of all the spectators. As a result, he was chosen “Most Valuable Player” among over 250 high schools and also helped our team win a championship. In other words, without him, we would not have achieved what we did. I am sure Michael Calvert has the same charismatic aptitude my friend had.

When it comes to his play style, it seems to me Michael is a very clever player because he could come up with the best ideas on the spot to score. From my point of view, he is not only a great passer but also an amazing runner. In my experience, most quarterbacks excel in their passing skills. In his case, he has skills both as a passer and a runner. In addition, he was a very reliable and indispensable player because he was involved in almost all important situations. In particular, one memorable situation I remember was his two-point conversion at the end of the game. That’s because his amazing play helped South Delta win 8-7 over Notre Dame.

This Friday, I will get a chance to go watch his game against the Mt. Boucherie Bears taking place at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West at 4:30 pm. I look forward to watching the game because I want to continue watching his performance and see if he can help his team to another big win.

Does reading my blog make you a Michael Calvert fan, too? If so, I hope to see you on the field on Friday. I know you won’t regret seeing him!

If you have any superstar players you recommend I focus on, please feel free to let me know so that I can go check them out. Thank you for reading my blog today. I hope you are doing well. Have a good day.

Are you ready for some playoff football?!

It has been one month since I joined Football BC, and the experience has been very satisfying. Some of the things I learned from Football BC so far includes how to shoot and cut videos and how to take pictures that are very challenging because I always have to focus on a player holding the ball or a player catching the ball among other players. I’ve also learned to use applications like iContact to update our weekly newsletter and other computer tasks. But out of all my tasks, my favourite is definitely watching live games. Watching the players play always makes me motivated to work hard. So, I must say I am crazy about football now.

 

 
 

Today, I am going to talk about the playoff games that I look forward to watching.

1.  Canada West playoff starting from next week

I will be going to UBC on November 7 to watch the first playoff game between UBC Thunderbirds and Manitoba Bisons, which is the exactly same match that took place on October 31, during which both teams must have analyzed their opponent’s weak points and will be ready to use that to their advantage to win in the playoff game. What I want to focus on is how the Manitoba Bisons utilize the previous losing game to lead to the winning game in the playoff even though I am cheering for UBC. In addition, I would like to pay attention to a couple of first-year former BC High School Football stars #28 Jamel Lyles (Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers) and #8 Jesse Walker (Mission Roadrunners) because their self-assured performance makes spectators, including me, excited and attracted. When it comes to UBC, they have a great advantage because they can play the game at UBC which makes their players comfortable. Moreover, they will be able to face with confidence for the game because they escaped with a 24-10 win over Manitoba Bisons on last week. To be honest, it is so difficult for me to predict which team will win because it seems to me both teams are very close in terms of their level of play. So, I will presume that the game will be the most exciting and intense game I have ever watched. If you have time this Saturday, I highly recommend you watch the game at UBC, which definitely helps you get rid of daily stress and worry. After the game, I am going to tell you my feedback about the game with pictures I will take and videos.

 

 

2.  2015 Canadian Bowl National Championship on Saturday November 7th.

Have you ever heard of the amazing team named Okanagan Sun belonging to Canadian Junior Football League?? The team became BCFC champions after a 54-0 shutout of the Vancouver Island Raiders in Apple Bowl located in Kelowna on October 25. Luckily, I was able to watch the spectacular game live, which made me extremely excited. In particular, I was overwhelmed by quarterback Cam Bedore’s performance because he was named the Offensive Player of the Game finishing 14-of-20 for 247 yards and two touchdowns. I want you to pay attention to the game taking place in Saskatoon against Saskatoon Hilltops as our boys compete for the 2015 Canadian Bowl National Championship on Saturday November 7th. I believe that Okanagan Sun will  win a championship.

 

Next, I was going to describe high school football play-off taking place in two weeks. However, I am not sure up to now which games I am going to watch. Instead, let me introduce an exciting game held before the playoffs start.

3.  Archbishops’ Trophy game this Friday

One of the longest-running rivalry games, 59th Archbishops’ Trophy game, between Notre Dame Jugglers and Vancouver College Fighting Irish will be held in Vancouver College at 2 pm on November 6th. I really wanted to watch this extremely exciting game because I watched both team’s games before. Watching these teams reminded me of when I used to play soccer seriously in my childhood and we would always want to play our best especially against rival teams. Unfortunately, I will not be able to come to this game because of a school appointment. If you can, I highly recommend you go and watch the game and pay attention to whether Vancouver College, who have won the last 11 in a row in the Archbishops’ Trophy game, can continue the great achievement, or the Jugglers end their steady advance. Do not miss it!! The reason why I like high school football very much is I can watch a different type of football since the league is based on American rules. I like both the Canadian and American game, and always find the differences very entertaining. If I get chances to watch high school playoff games, I will be sharing my feedback with you.    

4.  BC Lions playoff against Calgary Stampeders on November 15th

BC Lions will be facing with Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on November 15 to earn the right to challenge the Edmonton Eskimos, who have secured first place and will host the winner of the Western Semi-Final on November 22. I look forward to watching the game on TV in order to learn football more while enjoying it. I hope BC Lions will have a great performance and win a championship even though it is really challenging. I will keep my fingers crossed for BC Lions. Go get them!

I have described various playoff games coming soon today. I hope the blog helps you go and watch these games and get to be interested in it little by little. I look forward to seeing you and updating a new blog next week. See you later.  

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a great time. Since I joined Football BC as a communications assistant, I have spent one week surrounded by a great manager, Daniel, and Leo, who was my previous coworker and finished his internship two Saturday’s ago. If you know him, you must have heard of his many works that can be found on Football BC’s website and on YouTube.

http://www.playfootball.bc.ca/ 

https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialFootballBC

First of all, let me say thank you to Leo and describe how great he was. He was an extremely trustworthy and indispensable team member. He taught me precisely how to edit videos, something that I had no experience with before, how to update the high school football newsletter we publish every week, shoot videos and take photos, and so on. In addition to that, he showed me how I should work with Canadian people and the Canadian work environment, which made me feel more comfortable. I must say without him, I would not have gotten off to a great start and given a great impression on Daniel. Thank you so much for all of his kindness. I will do my best to catch up with him and to make you enjoy reading my blog like he did from now.

 

As you can see, I am having a precious time here even though I feel like I am struggling to learn challenging tasks all the time. My most memorable experience so far came last week when I went to BC Place last Saturday to participate in the “Salute to Amateur Football” event. In the afternoon, I shot videos for the brilliant people who were inducted into the British Colombia Football Hall of Fame. After that, I watched the BC Lions game live to learn the rules, which helped me understand more about Canadian football. Thanks to the amazing experience, I was able to learn not only basic rules but also how to root for home team like “crowd noise”. During half-time, Leo and I went to the field to take photos and shoot videos of kids playing football. It reminded me of my childhood when I played and enjoyed soccer. Their performance made me motivated to work hard. At the same time, I felt like I wish I could be a child.

 

 

 

When I was spending time in the office, I received a certificate for completing the The National Coaching Certificate Program “Making Headway in Football” which is something I learned all football coaches in Canada have to take. You might realize how much I am learning new things day by day.

Finally, I have started new project named English and Japanese football dictionary to help Japanese people who do not know anything about football to learn and become more interested in football like me. My goal is to convey how wonderful Canadian football is to Japanese people. I think it is my mission. If you, especially Japanese people, have anything you want to know about football, feel free to ask me so that I can help you out.

 

So this is my adventure so far at Football BC. I plan to keep taking full advantage of my opportunity, to use my skills and to enjoy my experience. 

 

I hope you keep enjoying my blog. If you have any suggestions or advice or even constructive criticism, do not hesitate to leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you. See you later.

Are you ready to rock???

My name is Yusuke Sakakibara, but you can call me Luke which is my nickname. I am a Gastown Business College practicum student and I am extremely excited to work at Football BC for the next three months. I wanted to give a brief introduction of myself and, after reading my blog, hopefully you know a little more about me.

 

First of all, I must say that working in a sports management company is definitely my calling because sports has had a great influence on me since I was a child. When I was an elementary student, I played baseball and if, I may say so myself, I was quite talented because I received quite a few awards. However, I had no choice but to quit playing due to a severe shoulder problem. After that, I almost hated to play sports until soccer saved my neck! Through playing soccer, I was able to grow as an individual and learn the importance of dedication, effort, teamwork and cooperation with all people involved. As a result, our high school soccer team was able to win the prefectural championships. It was a memorable experience that I will never forget!

Back in Japan, I was a firefighter. Unfortunately, I ended up quitting that prestigious career because at that time I did not have a strong enough mentality to handle the hardships and expectations as a firefighter. Hence, I lost most all confidence that I have been building since I was a child and suffered from a great deal of depression. However, the athletes’ documentaries and autobiographies helped me get back to reality. They taught me that all my efforts will pay off as long as I never give up in the face of adversity and to just make quality effort to make my life brighter. So since then, while keeping them in mind and to regain my confidence, I started to study English because it is one of the most difficult and challenging things to succeed in especially for most Japanese people. I managed to get back on my feet and I was able to speak English quite well after two and half years thanks in part not only to my renewed motivation but also to all those who supported me.
  

Without sports, I believe I wouldn’t have overcome the challenging situation I experienced nor have the chance now to work at Football BC as a Communications Assistant. I really appreciate this refreshing opportunity.

 

 

 

Finally, I am studying everything I can to know about Canadian football especially the rules and how to play it. I did not know anything about Canadian football and just thought it was very hard and dangerous. But my mindset has completely changed and now I realized football is one of the most intelligent, fun and exciting sports. I must say that I am a big fun of football right now.

 

I would like to convey the attractive points of football to you, especially those who do not have any knowledge about it. Like me, I am sure you will be crazy about football and start watching or playing it. It would be great if I could share how I feel about Canadian football.
 

My ultimate goal is to contribute to the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics thus I am aiming to get many experiences and skills under my belt from seasoned and competent team members. It will be challenging, but definitely rewarding and invaluable. I believe I will do it because I have evolved into a diligent, tenacious and resilient individual who goes the extra mile all the time and now never gives up. I promise to you I will do my best to make you enjoy and motivated by reading my blog from now on.

Do you have any questions and advices? Do not hesitate to ask comments or advices to me! See you next time. Have an inspiring day.