Salem resident Thomas Bartok picked up football in fourth grade as another sport to play instead of baseball. In January, he'll be facing off against Team Saskatchewan at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Bartok, a junior at East Lyme High School, is one of two players from Connecticut selected for the 50-man roster for the USA U17 Select Team. As an offensive lineman, he said his position doesn't get as much credit as others, but he enjoys playing as the "bodyguard" of the team and protecting the quarterback.

"Football is one of the only sports you can actually hit in," he said. "I'm generally a nice kid, but when it comes to football, I can really release my anger."

East Lyme High School football coach Rudy Bagos said Bartok battled some injuries last year and this year, but he is an effective lineman when he's healthy. He cited the Vikings' game against New London at the beginning of this season.

"We lost half our line early against New London, so I ran primarily against Thomas and Travis Clement," he said. They lost 47-19, but Bartok opened a lot of holes in the New London line for his fellow players to break through.

Bartok's father Tom said his son was invited in April to participate in a two-day USA Football regional camp, and he chose to attend the camp in Atlanta so he could work with more competitive players. He was then selected in June to the National Team development games, a five-day full-contact camp at Towson University in Maryland, and the selection notice for the U-17 Select Team came in October.

"That roster is 50 individuals, so of roughly 10,000 athletes where the camp begins, they choose one roster at each group," he said. "I work for ESPN, so it's kind of cool ... to know that my son is going to be on it."

Bartok said he's a little nervous about playing in a televised game, but he has enjoyed the camps and playing with people from around the country, especially players from the South where everyone plays football and there's more competition.

"It was challenging but it was also fun at the same time," he said. "It's going to be fun playing for the country."

Bartok will be in Texas to practice with the national team starting Jan. 11 before the game against Team Saskatchewan Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. The game will be aired live on ESPN3 and on the Watch ESPN app.

a.hutchinson@theday.com