Caledon native commits to Waterloo Warriors football

March 31, 2022 · 0 Comments

By Robert Belardi

Caledon native and former Mayfield Secondary School quarterback Nick Orr officially committed to the Waterloo Warriors on Monday.

The 19-year-old said, after being sought after by the Warriors, he instantly developed a close connection with the coaching staff.

“I just felt a really good connection with their coaching staff. (Head) Coach Chris Bertoia [is] just a really down-to-earth, genuine person and the interest that I felt from him felt different from any other school,” Orr said, when speaking to the Caledon Citizen on Monday.

“He had an interest in me as a person as well. Aside from football, it’s a world class school. I have a lot of friends that are in the area. Laurier being right there, there’s lots of chances to make good connections with people. And it’s not too far from home, that I won’t be able to visit home occasionally. It was really the best of both worlds there.”

En route to being recruited by the Waterloo Warriors, Orr had far from your normal traditional recruitment process. In his final year at Mayfield Secondary School, COVID-19 shut down all varsity sports. Luckily for Orr he found alternatives.

“I decided I needed to do something to separate myself. I really had to put matters into my own hands. We slowly worked to build a pretty good weight room in my basement. We built a squat rack out of wood,” Orr said.

“Even throughout the winter, I linked up with other university football players from Brampton. We would go out and shovel the turf and just throw as much as possible. I really got into a good routine that way and it just kind of became a part of how I did it. COVID really forced me to adapt a better work ethic regarding training.”

Last summer, after making excellent connections with players who were from the Waterloo Warriors, Orr attended a few camps.

This past fall, the Ontario Fall Football League offered a chance for all high school players, of all ages, to play after missing a year.

Orr joined the Halton Crimson Tide. In this league he put all of his training to the test. He made the first team All-Ontario as the top quarterback on the roster.

He went from mild interest prior to COVID, to being offered a scholarship by just about every university in Ontario, with Waterloo at the forefront.

A lacrosse player growing up, Orr began playing football at the age of 12.

He began as a linebacker with the Orangeville Outlaws and his coach, Jim Walsh, was happy from his very first practice.

“I was drawn to football because, it has a spot on the field for everybody. You can be bigger, smaller, thinner, slower, faster. From anywhere and you have a spot on the football field,” Orr said.

“For someone like me, who was a little overweight for lacrosse, I was welcomed with open arms playing football.”

In one summer, Orr was determined to lose 30 lbs. He wanted to be the quarterback. He loved the feeling of being one of the captains on the team and bearing all of the weight on his shoulders.

After reading Drew Brees’ autobiography, Orr was inspired by his story. Brees, at the time, was cut by the San Diego Chargers and made a move to New Orleans. He was the shortest quarterback in the league and led the Saints all the way to the Super Bowl.

In high school at Mayfield, Orr continued to grow his game. He emulated what Brees brought to the field and also how Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers moved in the pocket. It was then he was eyeing Waterloo, thanks to his coach at the time.

“I always had Waterloo on my radar because my head football coach at Mayfield is a former Warrior himself, Shane Everest, and he was probably my biggest role model on the football field. He saw something different in me and we had a very good friendship since I started at Mayfield,” Orr said.

“He always directed me to the high school Warrior football camps. I got a sense of what life would be like at Waterloo if I went there.”

Orr is excited to be joining the Warriors program this summer. He said the team has been on the rise for the past few years, thanks to Niagara Falls, ON, natives Tre and Tyrell Ford, who have made a substantial impact to the school.

He will be heading to Waterloo for camp in August.

From here on out, Orr is hoping football can take him as far as he can go. Going pro would be a dream come true. He will also be studying Philosophy, with hopes to become a police officer.