Parker Kellington has been selected to play on the U18 Team Alberta at the Football Canada Cup Tournament.
The 17-year-old is entering his 10th year of football. He spent seven years as part of the Fort Sask Falcons Football program and currently plays Tier 1 football at Bev Facey High School in Sherwood Park.
He explained that he had gone to the tryouts for U18 Team Alberta before and came up short, but this time he made the cut from around 600 players to the final 40.
"There was a bit of like, am I going to get cut again? But, at the end of the day, you just work with what you got and do everything you have. That's kind of the way it is," explained Parker Kellington.
Kellington made the team as an offensive lineman.
He added that his love for football began at a very young age while playing in Fort Saskatchewan.
Before his high school career, he won a Tier 3 division championship with the Fort Sask Falcons and this past school year, Kellington was named to the all-Edmonton team Metro All-stars.
"I love playing football because I love being a part of the team and being able to spend time with everyone. Everyone just ends up being friends. You're going to go through hardships together; you're going to go through success together."
Kellington is one of two local players that made the U18 Team Alberta for the Football Canada Cup Tournament. The second is defensive lineman Aaron Parker, who also plays for Bev Facey.
The tournament takes place in Kelowna, B.C., from July 7 to 17. Each team will play three games throughout the ten days.
Team Alberta's first game is scheduled for July 11 vs British Columbia. The following games will be determined based on the results of the first few games of the tournament.