Ontario Prospect Challenge Profile: Mustang looking towards next level

The Ontario Prospect Challenge is an elite three phase event that culminates in an all-star game in the spring of 2016.  For more information CLICK HERE.  The TRYOUT SERIES begins in October and goes until the middle of January 2016.

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Positions:
Receiver, Defensive Back

Height/Weight:
6’2 1/2, 175 lbs

Teams:
Brantford Collegiate Mustangs (high school: BCSSAA)
Brantford Bisons (OFC)

Commitment:
None

Official Visits:
None

Considerations:
Windsor, Carleton, Open

Class:
2017

Ben McAlpine originally focused on his training and team play on soccer.

He played rep soccer for many years and upon entering Grade 9 at Brantford Collegiate Institute he developed an interest in football.

That same year, he received an award for the Most Improved Player in football.

That offseason he continued to play soccer and began to play basketball and rugby, in which he won a Most Valuable Player award.

The following year, Ben continued to play football with the BCI Mustangs, primarily as a linebacker and safety.

That season his coach exposed him to the receiver position and he got an award for Defensive Player of the Year.

Ben continued playing rugby and basketball as well, receiving another award for Most Valuable Player in rugby and Junior Athlete of the Year.

This past summer, the Mustang made the decision to focus his energy on football, this ending his soccer career.

He played as a receiver and defensive back for the junior varsity Brantford Bisons in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC), as a result he received an award for his involvement on special teams.

Currently, Ben is in Grade 11 and played as a slot receiver for the senior Mustangs, finishing the season second in receiving yards.

BCI went on to win the championship and made it to the semi-finals in Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association (CWOSSA).

More recently, Ben was asked to try out for Team Ontario and was excited to make the first round of cuts. Unfortunately he was not selected to the final roster, but it reinforced his desire to play football at a high level.

Brantford Expositor, Nov. 12, 2015 by Brian Thompson

Brantford Expositor, Nov. 12, 2015 by Brian Thompson

Moreover, he is currently working to make the final team for the Ontario Prospect Challenge (OPC), and he looks forward to another season with the Bisons.

“I am excited at the exposure OPC offers and look forward to meeting new coaches, gaining experience and developing my skills as a football player,” said Ben. “I have enjoyed meeting other players and possible future teammates.”

“I am hopeful to meet university coaches and staff and to better understand the football programs potentially available to me,” added the Mustang, who graduates in 2017 and has a goal to be on the CFC100 list.

“My intent is to attend university after high school and I very much want football to be a part of my university experience,” commented Ben. “I would like to play football at as high a level as possible and being on the CFC 100 would be a step along the road in that journey.”

The University of Windsor and Carleton University are the receiver’s considerations.

“I play football in the fall and spring/summer so my offseason from football is fairly short,” explains the Mustang.

During the little bit of offseason he has, Ben is involved in other sports in order to maintain strength and conditions, like rugby. Many of the skills that are required to play football are transferable to rugby and vice versa.

He also spends time at the gym developing his strength and conditioning.

The Mustang does not have a single role model in football, but there are many plays he admires for different reasons.

One specific person is Brandon Banks, a return specialist and receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats because at 5’7” and 150lbs he has not let size limit his accomplishment as an athlete.

“I love watching his speed and agility on the field,” said Ben.

On the other end of the size spectrum, he also looks up to Calvin Johnson, who is a premier receiver in the NFL and is not arrogant or self-centered.

“his teammates speak highly of him and he’s a leader on the Detroit Lions,” added Ben. “While the Lions have struggled over the years he is consistently a higher achiever and has set himself apart.”

The Mustang loves football because it is a unique sport, and in that is a challenge both mentally and physically.

“The game moves at a different pace from other sports I’ve been involved in and is often a chess match of strategy and strength,” commented Ben. “The teammates I have met and played with are like family.”

He likes that it takes a whole team to bring victory, and that there are few sports like football where victory demands full effort from everybody on every play.

“There aren’t any neutral moments in football,” added the receiver. “Every player has a specific task on every plat and that’s true no matter what side of the ball you play on.”

“There’s nothing quite like football.”

Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.

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