“We are looking like a more veteran team this year, and while recruiting is important, we will most likely win or lose with the players we already have here on campus.”
Those are the thoughts of St. Francis Xavier (St. FX) X-Men head coach and offensive coordinator Gary Waterman. As the X-Men continue to prepare for the upcoming Atlantic University Sport (AUS) 2012 season, Waterman likes how the team has responded in spring training camp.
“I am extremely pleased with the way our offseason has gone,” says the X-Men head coach. “I have seen a new found focus with everyone this offseason, and that has culminated in a great Spring Camp.”
“Our camp was productive and competitive, and we put a lot of work in over a few short days.”
Waterman is entering his seventh season as a coach and this will mark his fourth season as head coach of the team. He spent many years teaching and coaching at Father Michael Goetz School in Mississauga, Ontario. Among the positions he held in the football program were head coach, offensive coordinator and special teams coach.
As a previous graduate and football player at St. FX, Waterman has enjoyed his experience so far with the football program.
“It is an honour to be the head coach of my Alma Mater and I look forward to bringing us back to our winning ways,”adds the X-Men head coach.
Jon Svec is the defensive coordinator of the team. Assistant coaches for the X-Men include Don Davis (assistant head coach, offense), Josh Lambert (offense, special teams), Terry Chisholm (offense), Sam Moreau (offense), Dave Bance (defense), Steven Espie (defense), Dan Arpin (offensive, special teams), Chris Johnson (offense), Adam Chisholm (special teams), Calvin Mims (defense), Thomas Narbaitz (defense) and Bob Chisholm (strength/conditioning).
During the offseason, the X-Men roster had 65 players. The team did lose some key contributors on offense including wide receiver Michael Hopper, running back Aloysius Williams and offensive lineman Vlad Orlov. On the defense side, the status of defensive back Dylan Hollohan is uncertain.
“We expect him to get picked up in this year’s CFL Draft,” says Waterman. “While we obviously wish Dylan well, it would be a big boost for our secondary to have him back for one more year.”
Overall, the X-Men are optimistic in spite of the losses.
“Our losses were not great in number, and we have many young players who should be ready for the added workload,” adds Waterman.
Some of those losses will be compensated by this year’s X-Men recruiting class. The football program is satisfied and quite content with the crop of talent they’ve secured in the offseason.
“In previous years here at St. FX, we entered the recruiting season with some lofty goals regarding the number of student athletes that we needed to bring in as well as the number of players that we needed to bring in with the expectation that they play for us right away,” explains the X-Men head coach. “We believe that we accomplished those goals, and as such we have been a very young football team for the past two seasons.”
Since the X-Men are developing into a veteran team with playing experience, their recruitment focus in the offseason have changed slightly.
“Because of this, we were looking to bring in a few players that fit specific needs for us, but more than that we were looking for some depth across the board, and we believe that we have accomplished these things with our recruiting so far,” comments Waterman.
One of the needs was offensive linemen. The X-Men were successful in their recruitment efforts at this position. Leading the crop of new offensive linemen is Colin Girouard (6’4, 275 lbs) who had a successful high school career at Fredericton High School.
“Colin will be joined by a number of other quality offensive linemen in this class, which was a position that we felt needed some depth going into this offseason,” says the X-Men head coach of the offensive line.
Since the focus on the team’s defensive recruitment efforts was to secure depth for the line of scrimmage, the X-Men landed two key defensive tackles. Emile Milton (6’1, 275 lbs) comes to the team after a very successful high school career with the Citadel Phoenix of the Nova Scotia Student Athletic Federation Football League (NSSAFFL). He played a pivotal role on defense and led the Phoenix to three NSSAFFL Tier 1 championship titles (2009-2011). Peter Dominic (6’2, 310 lbs) comes to the X-Men from the Calgary Colts. Both players bring experience and size to the defensive unit.
“Everyone agrees that this game is won and lost on the line of scrimmage, and we are happy with the way our recruiting has gone at those positions,” adds Waterman of the defensive recruits.
The X-Men defensive unit in 2012 will be led by the veteran linebacking core. Brett Hubbeard, Ryan Olsen and Ron Omara worked very well as a solid, yet cohesive linebacking unit and will be expected to lead and become the strength of the defensive core of the team.
“The X-Men defense is excited to take the field in 2012, led by their veteran linebacking unit,” comments the head coach. “The defensive line should also be strong, so we are looking to have a good year up front.”
“The secondary is also growing into a veteran group, with many young players having experienced a lot of playing time over the last couple years.”
On the offensive side of the ball, a promising sign from spring training camp was how the receiving core looked on the field. In particular, Devon Bailey and Jordan Catterall were standouts.
“These two have already experienced much success over their young careers, and it is clear that neither has reached his ceiling yet,” adds Waterman.
X-Men pivot Jahmari Bennett also stood out in spring training camp.
“Quarterback Jahmari Bennett did excellent job distributing the ball to the many weapons at his disposal,” says the X-Men head coach, who also says running back Ashton Dickson is poised for a breakout campaign in 2012.
Overall, Waterman is hopeful the offense will reap the rewards of working very hard in the offseason.
“Offensively, we are looking to be as balanced as possible next season,” comments the X-Men head coach. “We have put a lot of work into the offensive line this offseason and they are starting to look like a very cohesive unit.”
While keeping an eye on what their opponents in the conference have done in the offseason, the X-Men have worked extremely hard in the offseason. Ultimately, the team is anticipating the start of the AUS season to show the fruits of their labour.
“We feel that the growing pains that we have experienced over the past two seasons will pay dividends this year on the field,” says Waterman. “I suppose you always have one eye on the competition, as you end up going after many of the same recruits.”
“The AUS has gone through a few changes this offseason, and teams always seem to be cyclical as players graduate and new recruits enter. We have seen the work that our returning players have put into it, and we are excited about the incoming recruits and we are optimistic about the 2012 season and looking forward to getting it under way.”
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