Earl Marriott Secondary football player Felix Wang was honoured at the B.C. High School Football Provincial Awards Banquet Tuesday for his work on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Wang, who arrived at Earl Marriott from China in Grade 9 with minimal English-language comprehension and no knowledge of football, was honoured with the Kevin Chin Memorial Award, which goes to the “top overall student athlete.”
Wang carries a 90-per-cent average in the classroom, volunteers as a peer tutor and also at Peace Arch Hospital and with United Way. Additionally, he is heavily involved in his church, placed in the Top 25 in the Waterloo Math Contest, and is a captain on Marriott’s football team.
“Felix’s record speaks loudly of his commitment to academics, athletics and community,” said EMS football coach Michael Mackay-Dunn, who called the honour “a super award for one of our top student/athletes.”
In his letter to the award selection committee, Wang said he had “no idea what (football) was” at first, and at his first practice, he simply copied what others did.
“But I really enjoyed it. After a couple of weeks, my physical ability became better… my grades went up, (and) I spoke more in class, and actually had some basic conversations with English speakers,” he wrote.
“There is no such thing in the world that can match playing football… the benefit and the fun it brings to us is invaluable.”
