oxymoron : comes from a Greek word whose literal translation is ‘pointedly foolish’. An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two apparently contradictory terms appear together. Examples include a deafening silence, harmonious discord, an open secret, and the living dead…and in this case Wildcat playoffs
Kirby Camplin is a patient coach. Kirby Camplin has been there since the beginning. After Cornwall Minor Football Association was in existence for six years, and had over 300 players in its spring league in 2009, the Cornwall association felt the timing was right to make a big push for an OVFL franchise. They began participating in the summer league in 2010 and then CMFA Vice-president Camplin was an assistant coach on the first staff.
It is not easy to coach in a league that has big city teams and small city teams. It is perspective and patience that has guided the Wildcats to a winning record this year, but more importantly a model of how football can be developed in a small city center.
The ‘big picture’ has always been on the mind of the Cornwall Wildcats franchise, encouraging players to play in the Football Canada Cup even though it meant them missing games in the Wildcat season. The Wildcats have sent a disproportionately high number of players to the tournament since 2006. The ‘big picture’ is how you evaluate a squad that will usually not make the playoffs, especially early in its existence.
When CFC asked Camplin to talk about his teams start he said “the Wildcats are playing like a team, and competing well on special teams, offense & defence. It has certainly been a ‘team’ effort this season, the carries, catches & special teams have been spread out, and there is no one person responsible for our success.”
The ‘big picture’ is why the Wildcats have always been successful.
Kirby Camplin played CIS football for the Ottawa Gee Gees and enjoyed coaching with the Team Ontario Selects program earlier in the year in Austin, Texas. (Picture – middle)
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
