In July 8’s six-man football matchup in Alberta, Canada, Cory Hamilton of Spur, Texas (Class of 2023) racked up quite a few of the 84 points scored by Team USA in the 25th Annual CanAm bowl. Cory, son of Craig and Brandee Hamilton of Spur, returned to his home turf Monday and took time out of his schedule to answer a few questions.
THE TEXAS SPUR: What was it like to travel to Canada to play football? Have you ever travelled outside of the U.S.? By yourself?
CORY HAMILTON: Traveling to Hanna, Alberta, was definitely an experience to remember. Since it was my first time out of the U.S., I wanted to embrace the trip and make the most out of everything. The trip up was long, but talking and enjoying the time with my new teammates made it better.
Where did you travel, to get to Alberta?
After the Wichita Falls All-Star game (June 30), one of the coaches picked me up in Wichita Falls and we traveled to Lambert, Montana, in a suburban to practice a few days and experience the small town of Lambert. This was about a twenty-hour trip. We stayed the first night in Denver, then traveled the rest of the way to Lambert the following morning. Although Lambert was very small in size, the community of Lambert was big in supporting us and making sure we had a good experience while we were there. After a few days in Lambert, we left early in the morning to head up to Canada to play the game.
What was it like to play against Canadian players? Were the rules any different than U.S. six man football?
Playing Canada by their rules was definitely a learning curve for me. For example, you only had three downs to play instead of four, and it was 10 yards for a first down instead of 15. No stiff arm, no cut blocks; the quarterback could run and you had to be a yard from the ball if you were on defense. Another big rule was that they could have two players in motion at once and the middle lineman (center) could not go out for a pass.
What was it like to be a part of a team from several states in the U.S.?
Being a part of the U.S. Team was a true blessing. Even though we were all not taught the same style of football, we grew to understand each others strengths and molded them together to make everything work. I believe this is what made us stronger because we all understood each others point of view on the game.
After the game was over, did you get to do any sightseeing? Did you taste any local delicacies? Will you describe Hanna, Alberta, for our readers?
After the game we packed up and headed back to Lambert, Montana, where we had stayed the week before the game. It was an eight-hour drive back to Montana. The scenery in Canada reminded me a lot of home. Although things were a lot greener up in Canada, there was a lot of open farm land. Hanna, Alberta, was a small town a lot like Spur that really supported the game of six-man football. When it comes to local delicacies, there were only two things that were popular that surprised me. One was poutine, which is basically French fries covered in brown gravy with cheese curds on top. The other “delicacy” that was popular up in Canada was ketchup-flavored Lays chips. These things were literally in every store you went into.
What advice would you give to other young people who might be considering a similar opportunity?
I would immediately tell them that it is a oncein- a-lifetime opportunity to represent not only your home town or state but the United States as a whole. It is a true honor to be a part of the select few that are invited to represent the country for all of six-man football.
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