EDMONTON – Elks Rookie Camp is over, now it’s time for the tough decisions.
The margin between the top of the depth chart and the bottom can be so narrow, it makes days like Friday a difficult one for a team’s football operations staff. Over the past two days, more than 60 rookies competed to show they have what it takes to be members of the Edmonton Elks, but with Friday’s league mandated cutdown to 85 players there will be several talented players going home.
The belief for so many Double E hopefuls is they put their best foot forward on the field this week.
“We (Elks Football Ops) met last night again and then we had a lot of volume on field again today and put the guys in certain situations to see if there was risers or fallers,” Head Coach Mark Kilam said. “We’re going to have a little get together to discuss the roster, but it’s an unfortunate part of the day.”
The Elks head coach stood at midfield post practice and addressed the rookies and the realities of the situation, but he also provided hope. Kilam reiterated that regardless of what happens over the next 24 hours, it does not define the players as a football player or as a person – it is up to them to see how their story ends.
For those who find themselves one of the 85 or so players taking part in Sunday’s Training Camp, the work has just begun.
“We were just talking about that at midfield.” Kilam said. “What they do over the next two days is really going to either benefit them or hurt them because there’s going to be more information. The pace of practice is going to be faster and obviously a higher level of competition. As professionals over the next couple days, they’ve got to do what they can to make sure that they’re ready to go off for Sunday.”
The Elks will announce their cuts prior to the May 10 midnight deadline, and head into main camp. The first on-field Elks Training Camp session runs from 9:00 am to 11:05 am on Sunday, May 11 and fans are encouraged to attend. For more information on how to visit EE practices, click HERE.