With their upcoming senior football season in peril, a group of Orillia Secondary School (OSS) students have put together a petition they plan to share with the administration when they return to school this week.
Over the past couple of weeks, Seamus McGee worked with fellow students to garner support to field a senior football team this fall, which is currently without a coach following the resignation of Brian Greven.
With last year’s squad, McGee said a number of the Grade 12 students on the team skipped practice and demonstrated a lack of commitment through the year, which ultimately sparked Greven’s resignation.
“Mr. Greven took that as a lot of disrespect, and at the end of our season, he said to us he will not be returning next year to coach, even though our team was mostly all Grade 12s,” McGee told Village Media. “That was kind of unfair for the Grade 11s, which is now me in Grade 12 this year.”
As a result, dozens of students advancing to grades 11 and 12 have expressed support for fielding a team this fall, McGee said, particularly as last year’s team was composed mostly of Grade 12 students who will not be returning.
“We put together a petition because we wanted to show the coaches that we want to play,” McGee said.
For McGee, who’s had talks with York University about potentially playing university football, fielding a team this year could be a vital part of his future plans.
“If I don’t play this year, I don’t see that happening,” he said. “The coach that came up to me is the wide receiver and special teams coach. He said he’d be back to some of our games and keep an eye on me. That was something for me (that) was pretty big.”
Although last year’s squad led to Greven’s resignation, McGee said a number of incoming Grade 11 and 12 students feel it’s unfair to be penalized when they all want to play.
“I genuinely believe that, at least, the players we put together … are in the same boat that I’m in, and we genuinely just want to show we have the commitment and we are going to show up to practice,” McGee said. “We just find it unfair that we all lose in our last year.”
He also mentioned he thinks it’s “absurd” the high school’s junior football team has several coaches, while the senior squad is without one.
Village Media made several unsuccessful attempts to speak with school officials about the situation.
The coach of the school’s junior football team, Nathan Box, said in an email school administration has instructed teachers to not speak with Village Media “regarding any school issues” at this time.
OSS principal Brae Montgomery did not respond to a subsequent request for comment.
Sarah Kekewich, manager of communications with the Simcoe County District School Board, did not respond to a request for comment.
