About the golden bear Selects

The Golden Bears Selects program has been created to help in the development of elite football talent in our province.

Players selected to participate in this program will train with the Golden Bears Football staff, CFL players and current

student-athlete coaches. The young people involved will train, practice, watch film and work through the implementation of

offensive and defensive systems in a team setting. These teams will train, study and practice together over the winter

months from December to late February and participate in multiple tournaments against other Selects programs from

across western Canada. We will then Select a group of young men from each age category who will then have the option

of travelling to an American destination and play against other opponents at the tournament. The level of coaching and

opportunity to compete against quality competition is simply outstanding.

Golden Bears Selects

Growth

The expectation of everyone in the Golden Bears Football Program is to consistently grow and improve in all areas of life. We strive to improve as students, football players, team mates and people on a daily basis.

Service

All members of the Golden Bear Football Program are there to serve the other members of our organization. Coaches serve the players and players serve the coaches and each other. In doing so the young men in our program gain an appreciation for every member and learn the value of helping others around them become the best they can be.

Excellence

Members of the Golden Bears Football Program are expected to strive for and achieve excellence in all areas of their lives. As a program we strive to provide for our student athletes the best facilities, academic supports and coaching possible to help the young men learn what it takes to achieve this standard. Ed Ilnicki won the Hec Creighton trophy as the top football player in the nation but was also a 5 time Academic All Canadian, President of the University Athletics' Board, Winner of the Community Service Award for Canada West and a team captain.

The complete package

Facilities

The Golden Bears Selects program is

based at Foote Field on the University of

Alberta's South Campus. Foote Field

features a full field domed field and

USPORTS locker and meeting room

facilities. This combined with the video

and film work done by our video team

gives Golden Bears Football Selects

participants as close to a USPORTS

football experience as you can get

without actually being a part of a

USPORTS program.

Coach Support

The Golden Bears Selects program is

coached by a combination of USPORTS

coaches, CFL players and coaches and

current USPORTS players. Participants

will be learning from people who have

not only participated in Post Secondary

sport but have excelled in this

experience.

Student Athlete Mentorship

The commitment to play Post Secondary

football is substantial. The young men in

our program are coached and mentored

by our current players. These players

know the importance of taking care of

business both on and off the field and the

balance that this requires. There is no

better group of young men to mentor the

young and aspiring Selects participants.

Medical Support

Golden Bears Football Selects athletes receive some of the best medical support across U-Sport institutions. Along with designated medical staff through the season , varsity athletes also have access to the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, which provides assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of sport related injury.

Strength and Conditioning (NEW)

Selects participants will have the option of signing up for our Selects 'Bears in Training' strength and conditioning programming. Members of this program will be given access to high level strength and conditioning programming with weekly training and check in sessions.

2023 Participant Comments

"Watching my son's development get better every week, was thankful to the coaches involved, thank you so much for your program."

"The coaching was excellent! My son got a lot of really great coaching and feed back from CFL ALL STAR Justin Lawrence. They had a great connection and worked really well together."

"Our son enjoyed the coaching, honed a lot of his skills and made some great personal friendships with the coaches."

"My son had nothing but great things to say aboutall the coaches involved and as a parent it was very satisfying at watching the love the coaches had for football and the selects program."