Local kicker to suit up for International Bowl

February 4, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
Inglewood native Michael Bobak is looking forward to some great times ahead in football.
He has been selected to play this weekend in the International Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. This is the home of the Cowboys.
Bobak, 16, attended Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School last year, but he’s now going to The Kiski School, a preparatory facility in Saltsburgh, near Pittsburgh, on a football scholarship.
He will be representing Ontario in the tournament, as the kicker, playing two games against American Under-17 opponents.
Bobak said he’s been playing football since he was seven. In addition to his exploits at Hall, he’s played for the Brampton Bulldogs and Guelph Junior Gryphons.
While he’s also a linebacker, Bobak said he was just be kicking in the tournament. “At school, I play both,” he said.
Bobak said he had to go through multiple try-outs to make the team, learning he had been successful Dec. 7, which is also his birthday. “It was really cool,” he said.
He also said he’s really looking forward to the experience, because it will get him American exposure, “which is one of the big things I really need.”
He will be playing American football rules, which includes four downs instead of three, and the American field is a lot smaller than the Canadian. Those are the rules he plays in school, and he added that’s not required a great adjustment. He also played in the Ontario Varsity Football League, and they use American rules, as did the bulldogs.
“It’s not that big of a change for me,” he commented.
Bobak is looking far head when it comes to football. He hopes to attend an American university, and eventually play in the NFL.
He would like to attend Ohio State, citing it has a very good football program and it would be close to his home. He added he has relatives living nearby.
Bobak said he’s had a passion for football since his younger years. One of his friends’ brother was a football player. “I just wanted to be like him,” he said.
“I’m still hoping I can get pretty far in a career in this sport I love playing,” he added.
He was also asked for his prediction in this Sunday’s Super Bowl. “That’s a tough one,” he said, adding he would lean to the Carolina Panthers.