It might not be long before Jesse Plamondon becomes a household name for football fans.
The R.F. Staples Thunderbirds quarterback recently made the Alberta Current Stars team, a team that includes the 40 best Grade 12 players of the province.
“It’s basically a talent-show game for the players, because it’s going to be live streamed over the Internet,” Plamondon said.
His team will take on the British Columbia Current Stars on Dec. 13 in Chilliwack, B.C, where there will be coaches and scouts on site. Essentially, the game is an extra recruiting opportunity for high-school students looking to pursue a football career at the next level.
When Plamondon got the news he had made the team, he said he could hardly contain his excitement.
“It’s definitely a great opportunity when you come from a small town, and then you get this opportunity to go play with and against big-city players and coaches,” he said.
One thing that he appreciated about being selected was the fact that it brings light that there are some good players in a small town who are sometimes overlooked.
As T-Birds quarterback this past season, Plamondon helped his team post a 7-3 record. While he excelled in his position, he will be playing as a cornerback in the defensive backfield.
For T-Birds coach Jon Kramer, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to learn Plamondon had been named to the prestigious team, and said he’s happy knowing that some scouts will get to see what kind of calibre player can come out of Westlock’s program.
At the recent T-Birds awards night, Kramer described Plamondon with a quote: “You can tell an average from a great player when you demand excellence from them. Average players don’t like it. Great players love it.”
“Jesse loves a challenge and rises to it,” Kramer said in an e-mail last week.
He had spoken to Plamondon about playing at the next level, and they knew it wouldn’t be as a quarterback since the T-Birds system is quite different from what most programs run, but they figured a position in the defensive backfield would be a good fit to put his skill set on display.
“He hasn’t had a lot of reps at the position, but I’m confident he’ll do just fine,” Kramer wrote.
Plamondon said he hopes this experience will get him noticed at the professional level, or at the very least noticed by colleges and universities.
“This opens it up to scouts and coaches to see these players and possibly offer them to a contract to go play in Junior, College, or University,” he said.
His ultimate goal is to play professional football; before that he’s willing to play for any school that will take him — although if he had to choose, he would play at either at Michigan or Oregon State universities, his two favourite American teams.
If he were to stay in Canada, he would love to play for the Calgary Dinos, who were runners-up at the 2013 Vanier Cup. In the meantime, he is getting ready to play in one of the best games of his lifetime.
His game can be viewed at www.vbnsports.com on Dec. 13. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.
