Andrew Kilby might well have to tap into his pandemic patience yet again.
In signing his commitment letter with the Waterloo Warriors football program last week, the St. Benedict Bears’ senior and SDSSAA all-star said one of the primary appeals of his new university coaching staff is their willingness not to sugar-coat the reality for soon-to-be high-school graduates.
The simple truth is that far more often than not, the pathway onto the field for a new university recruit is typically two years or more in the making. That’s not that big a deal for the well-spoken 18-year-old who is about as “football” as they come.
“I was born into a football family,” said Kilby, who will attend his first Ontario University Athletics (OUA) training camp this coming August even as he prepares to begin working toward his degree in Kinesiology at Waterloo.
“My grandfather was an amazing coach at St. Charles, my uncle was a great football player and both played university ball,” Kilby said. “I just loved picking up insights from different people in my family. My grandfather is a brilliant football mind. Talking to him about football, schemes and plays as we watch NFL together, it just means a lot being able to learn from him.”
Junior Labrosse has coached Kilby both with the Bears and the Sudbury Spartans of the Northern Football Conference, for whom the young player suited up this past summer.
Labrosse said in Kilby the coaching staff as Waterloo is getting a treat.
“Based on the person and the athlete and the commitment that he has, the sky is the limit for Andrew,” said Labrosse at the signing ceremony last week. “He is an extremely coachable player. The (Waterloo) coaching staff are getting a gem.”
Understanding far better than most just how big the gap is between the secondary school ranks and university-calibre ball, Labrosse is thankful when recruiting schools support the messaging that he passes along to his athletes with dreams of playing at the next level.
“The coaching staff have been amazing at laying down the expectations,” said Labrosse, who is a Northern Football Conference hall of famer as a defensive back. “Being that honest can only lead to success in their program.”
All of that said, Labrosse knows Kilby is far more prepared than most young players. That preparedness was on display, the coach said, when Kilby was wearing a Spartans uniform last summer.
“Playing against men did not intimidate him,” said Labrosse. “He would absorb everything that a guy like Conrad (NFC all-star LB Erik Conrad) would tell him, all of the tips – but even more, I saw Andrew making plays. I think he finished third on the team in tackles. He is able to compete at that level.”
The foundation for that development came years ago, from the same organization that has groomed so many young men on the gridiron over the years. It’s also where Kilby first recognized his propensity for the defensive part of the game.
“I was in the Joe MacDonald (Youth) Football League and scored a touchdown and then sacked a quarterback, and I decided I liked sacking the quarterback a lot more,” said Kilby with a laugh.
Starting from age eight, this only child would take those Sunday afternoon living-room lessons directly to the classroom that is the James Jerome Sports Complex. “Joe Mac gave me my first opportunity to learn how to hit,” he said.
“It teaches you how to hit properly, teaches you the good techniques and gets you acclimated to hitting so that in high school, it’s not so much of a culture shock.”
Where Joe Mac laid the foundation, spending the summer of 2022 in Spartans colours taught Kilby another valuable lesson about how the game changes the higher up the ranks a player climbs.
“I had to focus on getting leverage, getting low, keeping my feet moving in case they made a juke move,” said Kilby of his time with the Spartans. “I couldn’t just rely on blind senseless aggression like I could in high school.”
This next phase will be no different. There will be plenty for Kilby to absorb, both in class and on the field.
“It was a very academic-based visit,” the teenager noted of his time at one of the country’s most decorated post-secondary institutions. “Half the day was devoted to showing me the Kinesiology department.”
And then there are the football assignments.
“I am not an overly big guy right now so I will be getting in the weight room even more,” said Kilby. “I need to build up some muscle, build up some speed and definitely study their playbook to know the ins and outs of their systems.”
“I see him potentially as an outside linebacker,” Labrosse opined. “But because they are not promising him to start that very first year, he may be a middle linebacker by the time they deem him ready to go.”
Waiting for that day will take some patience, but for a young man who persevered through a global pandemic, patience is something that he has a-plenty.
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
