Canada U17 West Camp

The next stage of this year's Canada U17 Men's Team identification process takes place at Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island with the Western Selection camp running November 3rd-6th.

The camp begins on Thursday afternoon and will culminate with a trial game on Sunday afternoon. Close to 50 athletes from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario will gather to participate in the camp.

The camp will be led by coaches Jim Delaney and Francois Ratier along with guest coaches to help with talent identification.

Jim Delaney expects the camp to provide an opportunity for these athletes to test themselves against some of the best young rugby players in the country.

"I am looking forward to seeing these athletes in action. I have been monitoring most of these players since the BC Regional Championships in July. I watched many of them in Calgary at the National Festival and have a good idea of their potential.

"We will put them into situations where they can express their talent. There are a number of returning players from last years' camps including Oliver Knott who was with the Canada U17 team in Wellington last year. I am anxious to see the progress these players have made in their fitness and strength development. There are also a number of younger players that will be given equal opportunity to impress the coaches."

Delaney continued "after the camp we will select players to travel to the USA to play at least two games against the All American High School squad. We will also be holding a second selection event in BC in February 2012. Although this event will primarily be a development event for younger players, the purpose is to replicate a high performance environment where we hope to establish some fitness and strength targets. The players will also be exposed to some of the techniques that they would need to play at an international level. We hope to set some expectations for these players so when they return to their U16 provincial programs in the summer of 2012 they have completed six months of the right sort of training."