Signing day isn’t a holiday in the United States, but it’s close.
On the first Wednesday of every February, high school football stars sign scholarship offers, pledging their commitment to top NCAA programs and often revealing their choices live on TV in front of cheering family and fans. Picture LeBron James’ “The Decision” playing out in hundreds of high school gyms.
But at Clarkson Secondary School in southwest Mississauga, signing day involved a handful of parents and faculty and a pair of football recruits in a quiet library. Middle linebacker Tyrell Richards signed a letter of intent to attend Syracuse University in upstate New York, while pass rusher Deionte Knight committed to Arizona Western College, a two-year school three hours west of Phoenix.
Each signed his contract wearing a T-shirt from their future school, but the moment also marked a milestone for their current program.
Richards and Knight both played for Football North, a private football academy operating at Clarkson in partnership with the Peel District School Board. Football North aims to become Canada’s chief incubator for NCAA-ready football talent, and the Star has been periodically chronicling their first year, documenting the successes, struggles and direction of a unique football immersion program.
The team won four of nine games this fall, loading its schedule with road games in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. But more than wins and losses, players and coaches say Richards’ and Knight’s scholarships prove their system works.
“It’s helped me develop my skills and develop as a person overall,” Knight says. “The coaches really do care about you, and a lot of the time for football players what they need is that little extra push.”
Football North’s system involves high-level coaching in U.S.-style, 11-on-11 football, and intensive off-season training at an annual cost of about $9,000 per player. And its existence is part of a larger shift in how Canada develops elite football talent.
While its local basketball stars often complete their prep careers in the U.S. — Andrew Wiggins, Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson all graduated from U.S. high schools — the last half decade has seen more football players following that path.
North York-born wide receiver Tevaun Smith headed to a Connecticut prep school in 2011and starred at the University of Iowa. Now he’s prepping for his second season with the Indianapolis Colts.
And since 2013 three football-focused private academies have opened in Southern Ontario. While Canada Prep operates in Welland, another football program sprouted at Royal Imperial Collegiate, a private school that opened in St. Catharines last autumn.
The southward migration of football talent and the rise of private academies have transformed the Canadian recruiting landscape. Of top 100 players listed in the recruiting database at CanadaFootballChat.com, 10 attend U.S. high schools, and 13 more, including Richards and Knight, play at private programs in Southern Ontario.
And among 20 Canadians to accept scholarships to top level NCAA schools Wednesday, two attend private academies and seven are enrolled at U.S. high schools. None came from public or catholic schools in the GTA.
“There is a niche for (private football academies), and I think it can work,” says recruiting consultant Justin Dillon, who runs 730 Scouting and has referred players to Football North. “The majority of my top guys are in the U.S. But (private academies are) here to stay.”
The fledgling Football North program hit some early hurdles, losing its first three games by a combined score of 104-34.
And off the field head coach Larry Jusdanis acknowledges player turnover is an ongoing challenge. Of the 47 players enrolled this year, only 21 are scheduled to return next season. The remainder are either graduating or transferring to other high schools.
Jusdanis says attrition is normal when fees are fixed but playing time isn’t guaranteed. As in any other program the best players get the most playing time and, consequently, the most exposure.
“It’s the 80-20 rule,” Jusdanis says, explaining why top players earn the bulk of the playing time. “Playing time is decided by the players. You have to compete.”
Jusdanis says players developed more quickly than even the coaching staff expected, rebounding from a slow start to win four of their last six games, and closing the season with two shutouts.
And after some early worries about how 47 high-profile football players would blend into a Clarkson student body of roughly 800, principal Mary Zammit says the Football North students eagerly joined the school community.
When Clarkson’s football team played home games, Football North students would volunteer to hold the first-down chains and down markers on the sidelines. The football players also played an exhibition against Clarkson’s basketball team to raise money for the school’s breakfast club.
The basketball team won big, but nobody took it personally.
“The concern was, will they be viewed as an elite group that’s separate,” Zammit said. “They absolutely have not. It’s been very successful because it’s a thoughtful partnership.”
The relationship between the public school and private football program is deepening. Work crews are turning an old shop class into strength and conditioning room, while the old weight room will serve as Football North’s on-site office.
Meanwhile, Jusdanis is working to fill in the final open dates on the team’s 2017 schedule, already heavy with powerhouse teams from football-crazed Ohio. Moeller High School in Cincinnati has won nine state titles and produced several NFL and CFL players, while Cleveland’s Saint Ignatius is the alma mater of former NFLers like centre LeCharles Bentley and quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Jusdanis says his team’s schedule, a collection of top teams from a broad range of leagues, might rank among the toughest of any school on the continent. But before taking on Moeller and Saint Ignatius, Jusdanis said he and his staff need to “recruit like an NCAA team” to find 25 players and turn them into a cohesive team by next September.
“Is it a tough schedule? Yep,” Jusdanis said. “But you know what our kids say? They say, ‘We want to play it.’ ”
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