Football operations departments from across the Canadian Football League have descended on Edmonton for this week’s Combine.
Football operations departments from across the Canadian Football League have descended on Edmonton for this week’s Combine.
One of the athletes from across the country taking part is University of Regina Rams defensive back Carson Sombach. The former standout at Miller High School has been training and refining his technique for months, preparing for the individual drills.
However, Sombach’s ability to make the big play like an interception in the 2024 Hardy Cup or a 109-yard pick-six last season is a big part of his game. So how can he make those immeasurables stand out?
“Staying level-headed, staying calm. When the intensity rises, and it’s time to make a big play, a lot of people get scrambled and start overthinking everything. I can stay calm and be reactive and instinctual in those moments and make the play when the play needs to be made.”
Sombach has also been drawing on the experience of his older brother, Jackson, who has been through the combine and now plays in Calgary.
“He told me about what the days look like, how to stay prepared for it, giving me some ideas on how the interviews look, and what the day-to-day looks like. I feel like that’s super helpful for me and something that a lot of people don’t necessarily have going into this Combine. I’m going to take the intel I’ve heard from my brother and what he’s recently gone through. Thankfully, the Combine was in Regina last year, and I went and watched. I have some intel on that and what the Combine process looks like. So I take those and prepare myself the best I can.”
In addition to the physical testing, metal fortitude will be examined during interviews conducted with each team. Sombach admits that he has been doing his homework, and not only on what questions may be asked of him.
“Making sure I know all the personnel, all the staff, all the head coaches, the DC (defensive coordinators). Know them by name and what they look like, to be as personal as possible.”
Sombach understands what success this week will look like.
“I’ll just be doing my best, not trying to compare myself to other people. Set as many personal bests as I can, to the best of my abilities. If I’m happy with how I performed overall and not comparing myself to others, but trying to beat what I’ve done in the past and compete with myself, I think that’ll be a successful Combine.”
You can hear the entire conversation with Carson Sombach at Sports.Cage.com.
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