Ben Hammer, a world history teacher and the head football coach at East Montgomery (Biscoe, N.C.), has 1,269 Twitter followers. He’ll have 50 more teenagers follow him at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas when leading the 2017 U.S. Under-16 Select Team against Football Alberta at International Bowl VIII on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Fifty top high school players age 16 and under from coast to coast will look to the 31-year-old head coach for a roadmap to victory while competing in America’s colors.

“Coaching is teaching and teaching is coaching – it’s the same thing,” Hammer said. “You’ve got to lead kids to make the right decisions whether it’s a test in the classroom or a game on the field.

“Some coaches are great with the Xs and Os on a grease board – you need more than that. It doesn’t matter what the coach knows, it matters what the kids know.”

Hammer has served as an assistant coach for five teams within the U.S National Team program and was the head coach of the Under-15 Stripes team last year.

The U.S. Under-16 Select team features a strong-armed quarterback in Blaine McAllister, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound pro-style passer from Milton (Ga.). When McAllister’s not taking shots downfield, he’ll hand off to exceptional rushers, including Myles Nash of Sachse (Texas). Nash, a punishing 5-9, 180-pound ball carrier, is a low-to-the-ground, one-step-cut rusher who aims to keep Football Alberta’s defense off-balance.

Among the U.S. National Team’s defensive leaders will be Cherry Creek (Colo.) linebacker Angelo Marchiol. An uncommon talent, Marchiol blends tenacious front-seven skills with exceptional coverage ability within his 6-1, 200-pound frame.

Hammer quickly identifies why the International Bowl means more than other games.

“Hands down, no question about it – it’s wearing your country’s letters on your chest,” he said. “These are our Olympics. When you hear the National Anthem before the game and you’re not wearing a uniform for the East Montgomery Eagles or any other high school – you’re part of the U.S. National Team program and that’s a responsibility that we don’t take lightly.”

The 2017 U.S. U-16 Select Team roster:

 

Name	Pos.	High School
Baron Bradley, II	WR	Porter (Texas)
Denzel Bryant	DL	Homewood Flossmoor (Ill.)
Mason Bugg	QB	Williams Field (Gilbert, Ariz.)
Kenny Byrd	LB	York Comprehensive (S.C.)
Adrian Cabrera	LB	Springstead (Spring Hill, Fla.)
Andrew Cervantes	DL	Raymondville (Texas)
Phillip Cyr	OL	Heritage (Romoland, Calif.)
Zuri Dublin	Ath.	Salem (N.J.)
Anthony Eaton Jr.	RB	T.C. Williams (Alexandria, Va.)
Roberto Farias	OL	Sharyland (Mission, Texas)
Chase Farley	LB	Wellsville #289 (Ottawa, Kan.)
Chase Farmer	WR	West Washington (Hardinsburg, Ind.)
Devin Friedrich	DB	Madison Memorial (Oregon, Wis.)
Connor Grabins	OL	Edgewood (Verona, Wis.)
Joshua Loera Gruell	OL	Hays (Buda, Texas)
Daniel Gutierrez	DL	Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo. Calif.)
Odahri Hibberts	WR	Needham (Mass.)
Kyle Hess	OL	Bridgewater Raynham (Mass.)
Cameron Kinnie	DL	Collins Hill (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
James Kirby	OL	Jenks (Okla.)
Evan Lantz	TE	Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.)
Angelo Marchiol	LB	Cherry Creek (Centennial, Colo.)
Ryan Maasen	LB	Camdenton (Gravois Mills, Mo.)
Ryker Matthews	DL	Trimble County (Milton, Ky.)
Edward (Tre') Maxwell	LB	Centreville (Va.)
Vincent Mazzuca	OL	Celebration (Kissimmee, Fla.)
Blaine McAllister	QB	Milton (Ga.)
Xander Mcglothlin	DL	Richmond Burton (Spring Grove, Ill.)
Gavin Meyer	DL	Franklin (Wis.)
Cameron Moewe	OL	Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Myles Nash	RB	Sachse (Rowlett, Texas)
Michael Pequeno	DB	Memorial (McAllen, Texas)
Fabrizio Pinton	K	The Woodlands (Texas)
Vicente L. Olague	DB	Los Banos (Santa Nella, Calif.)
Anthony Roberson II	DB	Palmer Ridge (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Arman Sayson	LB	Santa Monica (Calif.)
Hunter Schrock	OL	Maroa Forsyth (Forsyth, IL)
Marcellus Scott	WR	Tampa Bay Tech (Fla.)
Gabe See	DL	Ephrata (Wash.)
Nicolas Tardanico	DB	Archbishop Williams (Weymouth, Mass.)
Artia Taylor	DB	Berkeley (Calif.)
Donald Trey Toner III	TE	Spring Lake Park (Blaine, Minn.)
Brendan Veenstra	DB	Grayslake Central (Hainesville, Ill.)
Gabriel Walls	WR	Heritage Frisco ISD (McKinney, Texas)
Cameron Wilson	OL	Franklin (Wis.)
Tyler Woolf	OL	Boston College (Boston, Mass.)
Glenn Wright Jr.	DL	Sayreville War Memorial (Parlin, N.J.)

Click here for more information on the International Bowl and click here for schedule and ticket information. 

Do you know of an athlete that has what it takes to represent the U.S. National Team? Click here to nominate him/her today!