Arden Zwelling
CFL.ca
No one gets this far alone.
Just ask any of the participants at this past weekend’s CFL Evaluation Camp presented by Reebok how they got there and they will immediately sound off a long list of trainers, coaches and mentors.
The talent and drive has to be there, of course. But there’s no doubt it takes an impressive supporting cast to help elevate these young athletes to the upper echelon of their sport.
But strip away all of those folks and what are you left with?
A football player and his family.
York Lions DB Andre Clarke ran a blistering electronically timed 4.50 second 40-yard dash – the fastest at E-Camp.
That’s something that one of the weekend’s most surprising stand out players, York’s blindingly fast defensive back Andre Clarke, might know more than anyone else who participated at E-Camp.
Clarke put himself on the CFL map this weekend by being the only player to finish first overall at the E-Camp in two categories — the 40-yard dash and the broad jump.
Clarke has a football mentor in Lawrence Fisher — a former Saskatchewan Roughrider — who has taken the young defensive back under his wing since Clarke picked up football in grade 12.
It was Fisher who lifted Clarke’s spirits after the Sociology student was disappointed — yes, disappointed — with his combine-best 40 time of 4.50 on Sunday.
Clarke was down on himself because thought he could do better — he ran an electronically measured 40 of 4.41 in his first year of university. But luckily Fisher was there to help Clarke refocus ahead of the next set of drills.
“He’s like a big brother. He’ll pull jokes on me. But he’ll also tell me what’s up. He just gives it to me straight,” Clarke said of Fisher. “If I’m doing something wrong he won’t hesitate to point it out. And he’ll help me correct it and that’s the most important part.”
But before Clarke knew Fisher, before he was a promising CFL prospect and before he had ever even felt the added weight of strapping on a pair of shoulder pads, Clarke didn’t have to look far for a good role model.
His father Arthur was an assiduous cement worker who supported the Clarke family on a working class salary. Every day he woke up and diligently went to work, never complaining about his hours, salary or co-workers.
It’s that tireless work ethic and dedication that has rubbed off on Clarke and given him a strong temperament to persevere through adversity.
As a teenager, Clarke was talented enough to earn a scholarship to the University of Manitoba out of Father Michael Goetz Secondary School in Mississauga.
He went to Manitoba for two years, winning a Vanier Cup in 2007. But Clarke rarely saw the field as a Bison, nailed to the bench where he was watching his eligibility run out without ever getting a chance to prove his value as a football player.
“I was the practice ultimate warrior at Manitoba. I was out there every day, in the minus 20 weather, just giving it my all,” Clarke said. “But I didn’t play much so I had to make a choice. Nobody can notice you if you don’t have film, you know?”
But past simple playing time, Clarke’s decision was also financially driven — even if the Mississauga native is hesitant to draw attention to the fact.
Clarke was hardly a child of privilege growing up and had to work fulltime in Winnipeg selling cars at Autotown Kia to help pay for school and rent.
In 2008 his scholarship at Manitoba was running out and the bills were starting to pile up. It meant Clarke didn’t have much of a choice but to move home where he could live rent-free with his parents and focus on his dream of becoming a professional football player.
“My family is just so good to me. They know I have the potential to do this. They tell me to just take care of my dream,” Clarke said. “Being home I get to enjoy my mom’s cooking too — I’ll never complain about that.”
Clarke doesn’t have the nickname Superman because he looks the part. It’s his relentless work ethic that earns him the super hero moniker.
Whether it’s waking up at five a.m. every morning to get to the gym the second the doors open at six or staying in to study his playbook at night while his teammates are out reveling, Clarke is always on the clock.
“If you want to make it in this business, you’ve got to do whatever it takes,” Clarke said. “And that’s what I’m willing to do. Everyone thinks I’m an underdog so I’m just going to prove that I’m the cream of the crop.”
Clarke didn’t take long to prove his mettle physically at E-Camp, putting up the best number of the entire field with a 10’ 9.5’’ on the broad jump and finishing third on the vertical jump, reaching the 40.5’’ mark. On Sunday Clarke quickly picked up where he left off, running the fastest 40-yard dash of anyone at E-Camp in a blurring 4.50 seconds.
For Clarke, the good numbers were more validating than anything, after transferring from a school that wouldn’t let him take the field to one that is widely thought of as the laughing stock of the OUA.
“I have a real big chip on my shoulder,” Clarke said. “No one really expects anyone from York to perform. But we’ve got some serious athletes at the school.”
And whether Clarke is in Manitoba selling cars or at York trying to change a program’s reputation, his dad’s workman spirit is always with him.
It’s inescapable, in fact. Clarke’s middle name is Arthur — chosen in honour of his father.
“I respected him tremendously for his work ethic. I watched him wake up every morning and just do what he had to do to put meat on the table and give us a roof over our head,” Clarke said.
“I carry his name on my back and that reminds me that whatever I do out in the public I have to act respectful. Not only for my organization but for my family too.”
And if Clarke achieves his goal of being drafted and invited to participate in a CFL training camp come June, you can be sure that he’ll bring his father’s name and determination with him.
