Three Cochrane High Cobras football players travelled south of the boarder on Aug. 5 through until the 12 with the U-17 Team Alberta to strut their stuff at a week long development camp and exhibition games in Maui, Hawaii. Cobras quarterback Xavier Vaillancourt and receivers Dawson Gladue and Jake Thompson represented their school and town throughout the team's time in Hawaii, a week Vaillancourt said he and his teammates would never forget. "The trip was awesome. It was a great mix of us improving our football and leadership skills, along with a lot of fun times with my teammates and cool activities in Hawaii," Vaillancourt said. "I think it lived up to my expectations for sure. We had two practices a day except for the days we had scrimmages and those were mixed in throughout the week." The concept of the trip started in 2006 when a former Alberta high school football coach retired and moved to Hawaii. Once there, he took over a high school football team and put out the invitation to Alberta high school football teams to come to paradise for an exhibition game. Unfortunately, the only space he had in his schedule for a game was in the middle of August (they have year-round schooling in Hawaii) and no Alberta team could make it that early in the year. What has developed since that time is a summer high school football camp that is dedicated to improving young athletes and giving them a once in a lifetime travel experience. "We played three scrimmages. The first was against King Kamehameha, who we had a very good game against and we held up pretty well. Then we played Baldwin, a stronger team but we still did pretty well against them in the scrimmage," Vaillancourt said of the level of competition during the camp. "Lastly, we took on Seaburry, who we easily overcame and played a great game. The competition was definitely very good ... we played against a player who had already received a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division 1 offer so that was also pretty cool." Vaillancourt felt like the camp really improved his game while also giving him a leg up on the rest of the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) when the annual jamboree officially kicks off the football season at the end of the month. "It definitely gave me a lot of confidence for the upcoming season. During the week I was able to improve my footwork, but also pocket presence and being able to deliver to ball on time while also making plays with my feet. I think this will kelp me greatly for the season," said Vaillancourt. "Jake (Thompson), Dawson (Gladue) and myself have experienced real competition and game action before the season which gives us a real advantage in my mind. It helps us prepare for the first game and not have any jitters beforehand. Not only that but we've established chemistry and connections that aren't possible without a large amount of reps." "It was awesome to be together with them all week and be able to regain chemistry with the two of them. I feel like we couldn't have done a better job representing the Cobra attitude on and off the field." The trio of Cobras also have some goals they'd like to achieve when they return to Cochrane High campus. "First and foremost is we want to do everything we can to win the provincial title for the fifth straight year," Vaillancourt said. "We also need to win our first two games in order to set a provincial record for most consecutive wins in a row (the Cobras currently have a win streak of 37 games, two short of the record set by Raymond High School back in the early 2000's). Personally I want to have a great year passing and lead my team on and off the field." The Cobras first game of the season will take place on Sept. 1 against a team to be determined at a later date at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field.
