Sports
September 06, 2008 08:26 PM
By: Mike Hayakawa
Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks wide receiver Saxon Lindsay had two passes directed his way in last Monday’s 15-13 Ontario University Athletics season-opening home field win over the University of Guelph Gryphons.
But the six-foot, two-inch, 180-pound, 19-year-old Markham native made the most of those opportunities, hauling in one in the second quarter for a five-yard gain and the other at the start of the fourth quarter for six yards.
While the yardage gained wasn’t substantial by any means, nor did they go for touchdowns, they represented Lindsay’s first two collegiate receptions.
Just as significant, his feat came as a first-year player as a starter on the Golden Hawks’ offence.
“I know it’s rare for a freshman to start at the collegiate level so I felt really honoured and it sure felt good. I’ve put in a lot of hard work to get here so it’s nice to see that it’s really paying off,” Lindsay, a Markham District High School graduate, said of his collegiate debut.
During that season-opening game, Lindsay revealed he wasn’t as nervous as he was one week before after participating in a scrimmage they had against the University of Waterloo. If anything, he felt that experience helped him.
“To be honest, I was more nervous for that (the scrimmage). Maybe because of that, my confidence level was higher when we played Monday,” he said.
Entering preseason camp hoping he could make some form of a contribution during the season, Lindsay had an inkling his responsibilities would increase one week after training camp began in mid-August.
“I was talking with my offensive co-ordinator and he told me I was going to dress and to keep doing what I was doing on the field and I’d be able to play,” he recalled.
Just three days before Monday’s game, Lindsay took reps with the first offensive unit. It was then that Lindsay realized he would be in the starting lineup.
Lindsay credited several factors for his early success on the gridiron. Among them was the time he spent competing in a spring league known as the Ontario Varsity Football League with the Markham Raiders.
Lindsay said he did plenty of off-season conditioning at a Markham-based training facility Advantage 4 Athletes.
“I knew that I had to be ready for training camp so I trained there and I’ve noticed a vast improvement in my game because of it,” he said.
Lindsay also felt having a couple of fellow Markham District High School graduates as teammates in wide receiver Shamawd Chambers and offensive lineman Wayne Brock, helped ease his transition into the collegiate ranks.
“They’ve both been friends of mine for a long time,” Lindsay said of Chambers, another first-year player, and Brock, a fourth-year member.
While Lindsay has played just one collegiate game, he was quick to point out vast differences from what he was accustomed to during his Markham District High School football days.
Not just on the field, but off as well.
“When I was playing high school ball, we were lucky if we had about 100 fans show up. Monday we had around 3,000 fans there and there was a lot more atmosphere surrounding the game,” he said.