Canadian University Firebrand Becomes Captain of Conference Newcomers
Canadafootball.comIt was an interesting day in Canadian football today as last year's CSA Young Defender of the Year and CIS Defender of the Year, Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia's DC76, has not only been signed to a contract for newcomers Spurs Network FC, but has been named its captain.
As a member of the University of Victoria Vikes last season, he was easily the Canadian Interuniversity Sport's most feared defender, known as much for his outspokenness off the pitch as for his bone-jarring-but-clean challenges on it. His possession of an English passport through his mother means that he isn't considered "foreign" by EU and UEFA rules and travel is much simpler, but he's made one thing very clear - He's all-Canadian.
"I'm Canadian first, English second," he says in an interview with CSA correspondent Dorian Hawkins. "Still, I'm gonna love playing here. The fans are among the best in the world, and I don't care if they're labelled as hoolies in other countries! Compared to many nations, even in the last decade, true English fans are the measuring stick by which fandom is measured in the sport. Plus I think I have a chance to show the world what Canadians are truly capable of. I don't put up with any crap from anyone. You start whining to the refs, I'm gonna let you have it. You dive, I'm gonna let you have it. You cheapshot me, or even more so, one of my teammates, I'm gonna REALLY let you have it! I'm some kinda monster!"
He's not as big as some Canadian national team defenders have been in the past, like Jason Devos (6'4") and Kevin McKenna (6'3"), but at 200 lbs, he's a tad more muscular than the average 6'-tall footballer, and that coupled with his notorious glare really adds to the intimidation factor. Some of the CIS' best players are quick to point that out.
CBU M Murat Şukru: "The guy's scary, no question about it. He's got this aura of fear and power to him - the gaze, the build, the heavy metal before every match, the roaring - he's the guy you hate to play against the most."
UWO F Jason de Thomasis: "You don't want to have the ball when you're around him, because he'll take it from you and probably send you flying in the process. Not that he does anything dirty, but he comes at the ball so hard that you have no time to react and the only thing you can do is either get out of the way, go flying, or dive, and he'll be right in your face if you do the last of the three. He shows no fear, either. I remember him getting right in the face of [D'Mitri] Butterfield after he hauled [Kyle] Langseth down from behind in last year's playoffs. Butterfield's 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier. But he backed right off. DC's a wolverine out there."
Queens' F David Kerr-Vayne: "Toughest player to play against? Oh, DC76 from UVic. He's the kinda guy you love to have on your team because he tackles everything that moves and has the ball, but that you hate to play against because when he marks, he's on you like a remora on a shark, and he's so powerful that his challenges bowl you right over even when they're clean!"
Trinity Western and Canada U-23 M Patrick Kelly: "Don't get me started on him. He and Dan Kirpatrick were the two biggest reasons UVic beat us in the Canada West final. We couldn't get any corners in because he was all over our forwards, and our rushes were always cut off by him. He's always in the way."
The thing that club manager Daniel said makes him a good captain, though, is his commitment to accountability, both for himself and his teammates. Former UVic teammate and prospective US international Kyle Langseth said it best:
"He's always the first to own up when he goofs," the Grayling, Michigan native said. "He sets a high standard both for his own play and for the team's play and is consistent in holding people to that. But it isn't like he doesn't encourage anyone when they're doing something right, either - you should see his facial expressions when someone scores! Whether it's the fifth goal in a 5-0 mid-season rout or the overtime winner in the most important game of the year, he's like back there roaring his head off and like 'ROCK ONNNNN!'
When asked about his new team and teammates, DC had this to say:
"Oh man, I'm excited about the team! I've seen these guys in early practices, and if this team develops the right amount of chemistry, we'll be going up the table faster than if we had jetpacks on! Dan's a great manager, he's committed to winning and training us to be the best possible team. There's no 'I' in 'team,' or in 'football,' and Dan's made that clear from day one. You could see a guy score a hat trick one game and not get any goals but set a couple up the next. You'll probably hear me drop names as the season goes on, depending on who's playing the best football at the moment. SNFC, that's the place I want to be!
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