DB Owen Ford (CFC50 St. Matthew, Ottawa)
In the game of football, and in the game of life, you come across many who’re willing to take the easy route right on through, which inevitably leads to many dreams left unfollowed. Usually in the game of life you have multiple opportunities to make up time or make up for past mistakes, but when it comes to football, reality is you’ve got to learn quickly because your time on the high school field goes by in a flash.

This was the mindset that defensive back Owen Ford had to adjust to when he arrived at CFC50 St. Matthew, and he’ll be the first to admit that growing up he wasn’t the best kid on his team – probably not even top five. What he did know was that he developed a real love for playing the game, and he wasn’t prepared to settle for being “ordinary”, but instead he wanted to reach the realm of extraordinary.

This is probably a normal thought process a lot of high school athletes go through, but Ford knew the one’s who separated themselves put their words into action. One of the best ways to separate yourself from the pack is to surround yourself with greatness, and luckily the Ottawa area has been crawling with top notch talent in recent years, which allowed Ford to form friends with former CFC100s Luiji Vilain and Jonathan Sutherland, who’re some pretty good company to keep when you consider they’re now playing in the Big Ten,

“(They) really inspired me to do big things in football and take my game to the next level, and I knew I couldn’t do that without hard work and dedication.” Ford explains.

“I joined Gridiron Academy to train and get coached by the best and that’s what really installed the “dog” aspect into my game. There was no slacking, only grind. The literal blood, sweat, and tears that I put in at the academy really made me who I am today.”

The academy offered a template for Ford to work from, and from there he decided he wanted to self train himself, which is also where his Head Coach, Jean Guillaume enters the scene with a heavy hand. To a tee you’ll hear players heap praise on the man they affectionately call Coach Jean, and Ford is no different saying that his words of wisdom have helped form him into the man he is off the field just as much as on it,

“My favorite moment off the field would have to be the life lessons Coach Jean has taught all of us. He just has the power of getting his point across and making us, the whole team, understand what we need to do and the decisions we need to make to do well in life. I’ve learned many valuable life lessons that will stick with me which I will pass on to the younger generation.”

That kind of connection between a coach and his players is bound to produce some positive results on the field as well, which is exactly what’s happened at St. Matthew with them reaching the epitome of Ontario football last season with their first ever OFSAA Bowl victory. It was also their first appearance at the Festival, but despite the history, Ford says he knew the Tigers were bound for glory as long as everybody bought into what Coach Jean was selling,

“From the start of getting introduced to Coach Jean and the program he was running, I automatically knew that he had something very special in store for the upcoming season.” he explains.

“I was first to hop on board with the Tigers football program and I do not regret and never will regret the decision I made. When I first stepped foot in St. Matthew High School, I knew that with the amazing teammates I have and had on the team and the outstanding coaching staff, that a championship was bound to come our way.”

As always when you start winning in high school football, the recruiters aren’t far behind, and a few have been able to catch up with Ford in the last couple years as St. Matthew rose to prominence in Ottawa. With university also comes classroom work however, which is one barrier he learned he’d have to hurdle if he was truly serious about seeking out a spot at the next level. This also provided a valuable life lesson for Ford who learned that not everybody is going to be on your side, and after having guidance councillors doubt his abilities with a pencil early on in high school, he decided to take matter into his own hands and forced his way into university courses so he could ensure his eligibility on the field. That wasn’t his only driving force though, because Ford knows that football can only last so long, meanwhile a university degree lasts a lifetime,

“My main goals moving on to the next level as a student athlete is setting myself up for success through my education. Football is one of the greatest things that has happened to me but I know that it’s my education that’s really going to get me somewhere in life. I take a lot of interest in business and plan on moving on to a business program when I reach university.”

“I feel as if it’s hard for young student athletes to really set themselves up for success for their aspirations and dreams” he continues.

“But once those students develop a mind of their own and start to understand things more, that is when the puzzle pieces really start to come together and things start making sense.”

Which leads us to the 2017 edition of the OFSAA Festival, which will feature St. Matthew and Ford once again, but they got handed a weird road to the finals. Before the season started they already knew they were heading back for another chance at a banner, so the mental preparation for the big moment started long, long ago. Ford spent his summer training in the gym non-stop with his friend Charlean Alain, and I’ll just let him explain the daily schedule they followed,

“At least five times a week we were starving, and the only thing we were hungry for was work. Footwork, speed and conditioning drills is what we snacked on at around 1pm, and then we would hit the gym right after to get our full-course meal in.”

That same mentality has spilled over to his preparation for CFC50 Huron Heights, and Ford understands any game involving the Warriors is not for the faint of heart. He’s also a team captain this year, so he’s taken it upon himself all season to make sure he’s got his teammates fired up and ready to go no matter who they’re facing, which has been a bit tougher due to a month long break the Tigers have been on. He says it’s left him restless, but it’s also allowed him to make sure he’s prepared in every aspect of the game so he can perform to his full potential at Tim Hortons Field,

“What I have done to make sure I’m ready to take on the number eight ranked team in Canada is prepare myself for one of the most physical games I’ve played in my entire football career. Huron Heights goes hard on every play and likes to ground and pound. I’ve just been preparing my body making sure I am in peak condition to let the dog in me out and also mentally preparing myself making sure I am in the right headspace to make the athletic plays I know I am capable of making.”

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