Written By Mike Savage|
On January 6th I left for Arlington Texas to represent my country and state by playing the game I love. I was chosen to play for the United States U18 Select National Team. Last spring I was invited to try out at their New England Regional at Assumption College. There were 15 Regional tryouts all over the country. The tryout was 2 days. It consisted of positional drills, 1v1s and 7v7s. This was non-contact.
After the first tryout, the coaches decided who to send to the next tryout. They liked my work ethic and talent. They gave me the opportunity to make it to the main tryout in Canton, Ohio at Walsh University. This tryout was 3 days and was more fast-paced testing the candidates’ ability to compete against others. This tryout was a padded tryout. They supplied helmets, and we had to bring our own shoulder pads. This was a great experience as well. We got to stay at the university and room with 3 other players based on position.
Soon they chose me to represent our country in the 10th annual International Bowl. Many alumni of this event went on to the NFL including Todd Gurley, Tyrann Mathieu and more. My coach was Ryan Larsen of Stevenson University. To prepare for the game, we had to spend a week with our new team. We had two practices each day. We finished with team meetings at night. Each day we had time to spend with each other. In just that short time, we created bonds that will last forever. The last day of practice the coaches announced starters. I was picked to start as Linebacker.