Canada Names Coaching Staff
Montreal, December 7, 2006 – Team Canada football head coach Glen Constantin has announced his staff for the NFL Global Junior Championship XI to be played January 29-February 3 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Canada is the defending champion.
Four of the nine assistants named by Constantin are head coaches at Canadian universities. There are four offensive coaches, four defensive coaches and one special teams coach.
On the offence, Justin Éthier, offensive coordinator at Université Laval, is the Offensive coordinator & quarterback coach ; Greg Marshall, head coach at the University of Western Ontario, the offensive line coach; Stefan Ptaszek, head coach at McMaster University, is the receivers coach; and Marco Iadeluca, offensive coordinator for the St-Léonard Cougars (CJFL), the running backs coach.
On defence, Warren Craney, defensive coordinator at Concordia University, fills the same role with Team Canada; Blake Nill, head coach at the University of Calgary, handles the secondary; Marc Santerre, head coach at the Université de Montréal, is the defensive backs coach; and Randy Fournier, defensive line coach at the University of Ottawa, fills the same function with Team Canada.
Pat Tracey, defensive coordinator at Queen’s University, is the special teams coach.
‘’I’m very pleased to have such an experienced staff who have left their mark on Canadian football,’’ said Constantin. ‘’We had more than 50 applications for the positions.’’
Full bios are available on line at www.teamcanadafootball.com
Selection camps were held last week in Quebec and Ontario to identify players for a national camp set for December 16-17 at Rosemère, Que. More than 350 nineteen and under players were evaluated at those camps held in Lachine and Guelph. More than 100 players from across the country are expected to attend the Rosemère camp.
Team Canada will field a 40-member team for the tournament. Last year the Canadians beat the US 10-0 in the championship final at the Silverdome in Michigan.