Originally published in the Owen Sound Sun Times, June 29, 2005.
Their athletic credentials are certainly impressive.
But even more outstanding is the commitment that five current and former members of the McMaster Marauders university football team are showing to young players eager to learn.
They’ve joined forces in the new Ontario Football Academy and conducted their first weekend camp here earlier this month. Port Elgin was chosen because it’s the hometown of Ryan Janzen, a former Marauders wide receiver who now coaches the team’s receivers.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I went to Mac and started playing football,” said Janzen, who played at McMaster from 1996 to 2000 and set Canadian Interuniversity Sport single-season and career receiving records (both marks have since been broken).
“I wanted to bring a camp back here at some point, bring all my former teammates up here.”
One ex-teammate is Ben Chapdelaine, a former quarterback who’s now McMaster’s quarterback coach and recruiting co-ordinator. He’s thrilled to be part of the academy.
“We were able to learn a fair bit while we were at university,” said Chapdelaine, the CIS’ all-time passing leader and the 2001 Hec Crighton Award winner as the nation’s outstanding university football player.
“We’re guys that wanted to play in the CFL but were not good enough to make it. Any little bit that we have learned since that point, we want to make sure that we share with the kids so that they have a better chance of making it to the professional level.”
Janzen and Chapdelaine were joined by Marauders linebacker Tristan Clovis, halfback Jesse Card and former running back Kyle Pyear. Combined, the five own 15 Ontario university all-star picks and seven all-Canadian selections.
Because they all play different positions, they can concentrate on different aspects of the sport. It’s a specialized kind of coaching not often available to high school athletes, especially in this area.
“We’re trying to teach the basics to some and go into a little bit more depth for the guys who have some experience,” Chapdelaine said. “We don’t want them to stand here without being challenged, without learning.”
The camp also included classroom sessions which focused on how to get into university, proper weightlifting techniques and more.
“Ben will lead us through some Mac game film, breaking down defences,” Janzen said. “I don’t think they really get a chance to do that at the high school level around here, so that’ll be an eye-opener for them.”
It makes for the kind of environment Janzen would likely have thrived in had it been available when he was attending Saugeen District Secondary School.
But the school didn’t have a football program while he was growing up, meaning he was new to organized football when he arrived at McMaster.
“I was always a big fan, but I never had the opportunity (to play),” he said. “When I went to Mac I thought, let’s give it a try. Who knows what’ll happen?
“And it worked out for the best although, to be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever get to that point. I never thought I’d actually get a chance to play. Especially in my first year I thought, I’m never gonna make it in this league.”
By the time he graduated, Janzen had compiled 3,187 yards and had been named an Ontario all-star four times. He was also twice chosen all-Canadian and was one of 24 players named to McMaster’s Team of the Century.
“It was mainly watching the guys, watching the veterans,” he said, explaining how he had learned.
“I’ve been telling these young guys, listen to me but watch the older guys run the routes. Watch what they do. You can pick up so much by just watching other people. That’s what I did and it worked out pretty well.”
Janzen had some practical knowledge of how to operate a football camp because one of his responsibilities while working in community relations for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was to help run Vince Carter’s youth basketball camp.
He left MLSE prior to the start of the NHL lockout and began working in McMaster’s development office. Along with coaching football, he’s putting his marketing abilities to use by helping with the fundraising campaign for the university’s proposed new football stadium and athletic centre.
“It’s perfect. It’s exactly what I want right now. I’m in Hamilton, I’m coaching, I’m working for the school and it gives me an opportunity to do camps like this,” Janzen said.
He and Chapdelaine are also happy to be reunited with the Marauders. Chapdelaine said their close friendship helped them work so well together on the field.
“Sometimes quarterbacks and receivers have that connection without communicating and Ryan and I had that,” said the Montreal native. “If I was in trouble, I knew where he’d go and he knew where I needed him to be.
“We hooked up many a time based on the fact that we just had that relationship. We spent a lot of time after practice, away from practice, during the summer, whatever it was, just throwing and catching. That’s how you develop that relationship.”
Now that he’s McMaster’s recruiting co-ordinator, Chapdelaine is eager to find another diamond in the rough. He acknowledged a football camp for high school players is the perfect place to spot a gem.
“My job is recruiting and I travel around and see a lot of football. So far, the guys here have been really good,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to look at the talent and help the kids develop a little bit. We’ve seen over the last few years that Saugeen District and other schools in the area are getting better and better at football.”
Saugeen District Royals head coach Pete Buttenaar, himself a former Marauder football player, said the camp will have been a success simply if it inspires someone to play football.
“The biggest thing they’re trying to do is promote the sport itself, which is what kids need to develop an interest. A lot of kids from our area have never played the game,” he said.
“I’m really thankful that these guys are willing to come up and do this.”
This was the Ontario Football Academy’s only camp this year, although Janzen and Chapdelaine hope to expand the program in 2006. They confirmed that Port Elgin will again be on the schedule.
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NOTE: Janzen now works for the Canadian Football League as its director of football operations. He was inducted into the Saugeen Shores Hall of Fame in 2007 and into the McMaster Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
Jonathon Jackson - For the Record 