Brett Conlon — a 17-year-old athlete hailing from Burns Lake — has been signed as quarterback for the University of Windsor football team.
When he learned that he’d been recruited by the team, he said that he felt lucky and surprised. “I was really blessed,” he said.
Conlon recently returned from Windsor, Ont., where he spent four days for his official signing as quarterback with the Lancers, the university’s varsity football team.
The University of Windsor flew him to the southern Ontario city with his father, where they toured the campus and the city, and met with his new teammates, coaches and teachers.
Hockey used to be his sport of choice, and he didn’t take up football until he moved from Burns Lake to Cochrane, Alta., about five years ago.
Conlon got his first starting position as quarterback in his senior year at Cochrane High School.
He was busy with homework — English and social science — when he picked up the phone for an interview with the Lakes District News. He’s focussing on keeping his grades up as he completes high school this year.
As part of the deal with the University of Windsor, he’s getting an entrance scholarship worth $4,500 on the condition that he finishes his senior year with grades of at least 80 percent in six courses, he said.
He’s planning to study human kinetics and kineseology — disciplines relating to movement in the human body — and he’s thinking about making a career out of personal training and sports medicine, coaching players in safer methods of training and play.
But he’s also got his eyes on the big leagues, including the CFL and NFL.
“I know I’ll be up for a battle going for those positions,” he said. But his recent experiences have taught him the importance of positivity — a message that he wanted to relay to young athletes in his hometown.
“There’s a lot of potential,” he said, adding that it’s important to keep an open mind. When he moved to Alberta, he found that trying a new sport helped him connect to his new community. “You’ve gotta open yourself up,” he said.
Asked if he wanted to add anything at the close of the interview, Conlon said he wanted to thank his family and friends for their support. And he said that he was always treated well in Burns Lake.
