Colonel By Cougar DT heading to Waterloo

Warriors welcome versatile lineman to their Class of 2017.

Nathan Amesbury, a defensive tackle from Colonel By Secondary School, is ready to balance football and school once again at the university level after signing with the University of Waterloo Warriors.

It can be difficult, sometimes, to think of a future post-football after having played the sport for so many years. Eight-year veteran Amesbury, however, understands that he won’t be involved in the game forever. “There is a life outside of football and I think Waterloo is the school that is best to prepare me for it,” he said.

“It’s an amazing school, one of the top schools in the country. I went to a well-recognized high school for academics at Colonel By and Waterloo is a lot like that when it comes to university.”

The product of North Gloucester in Ottawa, Ontario isn’t quite sure what program he would like to study, but he does know one thing. “I just like working with people and it seems like there’s a lot of good programs to give me that opportunity once I’m done university,” he said. “Waterloo has a lot of interesting programs, including a sports business program, which sounds popular and really cool.”

He added that he is also interested in social work. He is particular keen about Waterloo’s co-op options, which he said are well-recognized and will be a good way to pay off student debts.

While a post-football future is hopefully quite a while off, Amesbury is ready to focus on the next chapter of his well-versed football story. “Throughout my visits, Waterloo seemed like an amazing place with the family they have there. A lot of the people are close to each other and it gives off a real nice family vibe,” he said.

During his time in Ottawa, the 6’5, 270lbs athlete has had a chance to watch the local Carleton Ravens football team since the time of their reincarnation in 2013. “Coach Darrell Adams or as I call him DA, he helped reboot Carleton’s football program and I know all of the great things he is capable of doing. He is a great guy and a great coach, someone who I look forward to playing for,” he said.

Coach Adams isn’t the only coach at Waterloo that has left an impression on Amesbury. “Meeting Coach Bertoia, or as the players call him, coach Bert, he seems like an amazing guy. He is very good at getting his players to play for him as all the players I had the opportunity to talk to said that,” he said.

Throughout his high school career with the Colonel By Cougars (National Capital Tier 2 High School Football League), he as played as a centre, left guard, left tackle, defensive tackle, defensive end and middle linebacker. But, he had signed onto the Warriors as an interior defensive lineman, or defensive tackle.

He has played for the Cumberland Panthers (OVFL), the North Gloucester Giants (National Capital Amateur Football Association), the Mew Orleans Dukes (NCAFA), Team Ontario and the Fox 40 Prospect Challenge. He has been an OVFL, NCAFA and AIA (high school) all-star teams. He has won four championships while playing NCAFA ball. He has been named as a line MVP on multiple occasions and was a two-time defensive MVP. As well, he has been given a team leadership award. This year, he helped the Cougars to a high school division championship.

With reality sinking in that university is on the horizon, Amesbury has few things left to say. “It’s just surreal since this is something you want to achieve as a kid and when you finally get to this moment, you just realize how much work you still have left to do,” he said. “That being said, I want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point in my life, all my previous coaches, team mates, but most importantly, my parents.”