Saintly resurrection

[attach]985[/attach]When starting at Eastern Commerce three years ago, physics teacher Sean Henderson mused he wanted a football team in Saints territory.

Once Sam Miceli arrived as principal, Henderson’s dream hit the gridiron with $10,000 donations from both the Rob Ford Football Foundation and the Toronto Argonauts’ Level the Playing Field program.

Though the Saints went 0-4-1 for 2009-10 — their first season since 1979 — Henderson said there is renewed hope in students.

“Football is unlike a lot of sports where you have to practice every day,” he said. “It’s such a short season but it’s so intense and it takes a huge amount of commitment especially for young student athletes who have to maintain their marks.

“But because it takes that huge amount of dedication it also develops friendships and a sense of community like no other sport.”

Miceli agreed.

“It’s boosted the morale of the school as a whole, definitely,” he said. “The record, of course it’s important to the kids, but the fact that they can learn, make progress in learning their positions in the game … it’s more than sufficient at this point.”

Eastern Commerce opted to team-up with Monarch Park to bring them into the huddle.

“It was a real treat to combine both of the schools Eastern and Monarch together,” Henderson said. “I think that was really good for the community and it sort of broke down some barriers between the schools.”

The pigskin union elated Jason Colero, Argos’ manager of community relations.

“I think it was a great thing because two schools working together to cheer on the same team was really neat to watch,” he said.

The camaraderie even brought out the girls, as one joined the Saints’ defensive lineup. The young lady wished to remain anonymous though, out of her love for the sport, Miceli said.

“She’s declined an interview with others because, to her credit, she doesn’t want to be a cause celeb,” he said. “She’s not trying to make a platform for herself to draw attention.”

Football is also Rob Ford’s passion. The Ward 2 councillor said there are no bootleg passes or QB sneaks in his playbook when it comes to the donations.

“There’s no catch to it,” he said. “I’m just doing it to get kids playing football, and keeping them in school and getting them an education.

“I really think football is a great sport to get the kids off the street and doing something constructive.”

Ford’s and the Argos’ donations have not gone unnoticed, as Henderson praised them both.

“Rob Ford, in my opinion, has done an amazing thing for the city in funding public sports, specifically football,” he said. “It’s really helped fill out the package in terms of how meaningful it is to our kids.”

As for the Argos, it doesn’t stop with the money.

“These schools that we’ve granted this year haven’t seen the last of us because we’re going to be back with their school to do the (Huddle Up) bullying program,” Colero said. “Eastern Commerce’s football team is going to form the committee that’s in the school educating the rest of the student body about bullying.”

It’s all like a Hollywood screenplay, Henderson said, as his students have compared their luck to the movie Remember the Titans.

“Although it’s Hollywood, there is that aspect where it breaks down barriers and you make closer friends,” he said.