It’s said that the last will be first.
Jacob Andrews recently proved that to be true.
Andrews, a 10-year-old from Conception Bay South, won his division in the Atlantic Schooner Punt, Pass, Kick tournament held in Moncton, N.B., last Sunday The tourney was held in conjunction with a regular-season Canadian Football League game between the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts at the University of Moncton Stadium.
Those taking part were assessed on distance combined with accuracy in throwing, punting and placekicking the football.
Andrews, who earned his berth in a regional competition earlier this month at Wishingwell Field in St. John’s, was the last to compete in his 9-10 age group in Moncton, but instead of making him nervous, the wait allowed him to assess those that came before him, and that actually gave him confidence.
“When I saw the others and what they did, I thought to myself that I could do better,” said Jacob, who is in his second year of minor play with the Paradise Buccaneers U12 team in the Avalon Minor Football league.
And that he did.
Jacob had an excellent result in punting and a good one in throwing the ball. His father Sean suggests Jacob would have liked to have done better kicking, but his finishes in the other two disciplines were enough to give him first place.
Jacob played soccer before taking up football and he said that helped in the adjustment to kicking in his new sport. Then again, since there is little kicking in his U12 minor division, which uses flag football rules, he spent a lot of time working on his punting and placekicking with his dad.
“We practised quite a bit and it really helped (in Moncton),” said Jacob, who plays quarterback for Paradise,
Jacob’s favourite teams are the CFL’s Ottawa RedBlacks and NFL’s New England Patriots and he has thoughts of playing as a pro.
“I’ve been hoping for a long time that I could play in the CFL one day,” said Jacob, who wasn’t aware of Kilbride native Geoff Drover, who became the first Newfoundlander to play in the CFL when he suited up with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2001.
But he says he will be looking him up.
Sean Andrews said the events in Moncton, which involved present and former CFLers, as well as Canadian college players, provided multiple benefits besides competition and fun.
“They learned the value of playing as a team, plus another thing we did take away from Moncton was that I think it really got (Jacob) thinking about the fact football can provide educational opportunities, even if that would be a few years from now,” said Sean.
“It was a great experience all around.”’
Twitter: @telybrendan
