Kairo Hassan has got ‘Rookie of the Year’ in his sights

Like many kids, we grow up wanting to be like one of our parents. For running back/defensive back Kairo Hassan, his Dad was who turned the light on and football was born.

“What made me get into football was my father. My father was a running back for a little school in Moose Jaw. He was a very outstanding running back and managed to get a scholarship from Notre Dame and the U of Cincinnati,” he explained. “However, he did not take the offers and instead wanted me to carry on his dream.”

And what a dream that would be if those offers rang true in the future of this young athlete. Playing for five years now in the British Columbia Provincial Football Association (BCPFA), Hassan can recall winning the 2014 city championships with the North Surrey Minor football league which motivated him to get even better. This year, he said that he fought for a spot on Team BC to represent his province in the Canada Cup, which he did as a defensive back – a position that he had only recently started playing.

While he may be a bit undersized now, 5-foot-10 and 175-pounds, Kairo informed me that he wasn’t always like this.

“When I began playing football, I weighed over 210 pounds playing offensive line and after a while I got sick of it and dropped all my weight. By year three, I weighed 130 pounds and from then, I began to put on weight to become the best running back I could be.”

Modeling his game after some other star running backs, Ezekiel Elliott and HOFer Barry Sanders, Hassan said that both of these players have made a large impact in his playing style. From the snap to “one cut moves”, Kairo is looking to leave defenders in his tracks.

“The thing I like about playing running back is that nowadays, everyone focuses on the ‘jukes and jives’. I mean, I have those under my sleeve, but nothing makes my day better than running straight down the middle, knocking people over,” he explained. “I might look small, but I’m a very hard hitter off the hand-off and I think that leaves players guessing.”

Head Coach Howie said, “Kairo is a raw talent kid, runs with speed and power, tackles well, but needs to be coached up, best thing about Kairo is his willingness to learn and his work ethic is second to none, he will have no problem making the jump to the next level in 2019. ”

Setting his expectations of himself extremely high for the upcoming season, Hassan is working hard not only to bring home another championship with his team, but to win Rookie of the Year and/or Offensive Player of the Year.

In order to get here, he said he trains three times a week with his Dad – doing football skills and drills, and on the days that he isn’t doing this, you will find him at the gym doing conditioning and performance training with his coach.

“Football is my life, I live it, breathe it, and play it. When I’m not playing football, I’m watching football off my phone or the television. If I’m not doing that, I’m at the park with my friends throwing around a football.”

This type of dedication will hopefully translate into getting recruited at the next level for this young athlete. He has attended some camps and believes that he did pretty good out of all the running backs.

“I have participated in the Under the Radar training camp and out of all the running backs, I think I was one of the top 4 disregarding my age as a factor,” mentioned Hassan.

“Kairo is one of this kids who has had very little if any coaching or exposure until this year, now playing with and against great athlete in 7v7 for ASYS down in the Pacific Northwest as well as for Team BC in Canada Cup, you can now see a huge difference since he started in January, the ceiling is very high for Kairo,” said Coach Howie.

Hassan’s future plans are to attend a college or university with a Drafting Engineering program or a Forensic Science program – and to carry on with football. He hasn’t made any specific decisions as to where his new home will be for the 4-5 years of post secondary, however, he does have a top three that he is considering.

“I have not yet committed to any post secondary schools, but my top three choices would have to be east Mississippi community college, University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Washington. I chose these three because I’ve done a lot of research on their schooling, as well as their football team, and I think I could contribute to their programs.”

Hassan doesn’t seem to have any concerns should his future plans go the way he has them laid out right now. “I think I would adjust just fine because I had to adjust to playing midget football trying out for team BC when I was still playing in the bantam level,” he said.

This confidence will be very useful as Hassan continues to grow and develop. No doubt Dad had something to do with that, as well as some of the coaches who have impacted him along the way.

“Mostly my dad,” when we asked him who has influenced him significantly in his life and football.  “I would love to follow his footsteps on being a running back for the NCAA.

“I would also like to thank my coaches Howe, Burt, and Mollard for getting me to the point I am currently and I would also like to thank all-star youth and the BCPFA for getting me better every day as additional information.”

 

Check out my highlight – https://t.co/l3UGwb8Gqd

— Kairo (@Kairo2Hassan) July 17, 2017

Kairo Hassan (#23)
Running back, Defensive back
5’10, 175lbs

Teams: North Delta Longhorns, North Surrey Minor Football, Team BC
Official visits: n/a
Unofficial visits: n/a
Considerations: East Mississippi Community College, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Washington, open
Commitment: none
Class: 2019