Martinez signs with Waterloo
In front of a large fathering of family and friends, Arden Martinez signed on the dotted line Friday to play scholarship football for the University of Waterloo Warriors.
“It is pretty exciting,” the 12B student at A.N. Myer said. “When I first started playing football, it was just for fun and now it is more serious. Seeing myself in this position is something you never think of and knowing I will be doing that next year makes me a little nervous but it is super exciting.”
The 18-year-old Niagara Falls resident verbally committed to attend Waterloo at the end of the 2021 season but decided he needed one more year at the high school level.
“It is being a student-athlete and I am always about my academics. I really wanted to get into their engineering program and I felt physically and mentally I wasn’t ready to go there yet,” the halfback/middle linebacker said. “I could see myself being on that team and being with that coaching staff but I didn’t see myself being there at that time. I knew I wanted to be there but I just needed more time to get there.”
That time is now or more specifically next fall.
“I am bigger physically and mentally I am ready to take on that challenge,” he said. “I didn’t know what university was going to look like but some of my friends are in university. Seeing what it is like through them has helped me feel more prepared to go myself. It’s not that scary.”
He has specific goals for his freshman season.
“My goal is to dress, to play, to get bigger, to know everyone on the team, to do well in school and keep on improving in football,” he said. “I know I am good now but I can always be better.”
He has already started to prepare for 2023.
“I have been saving up for a good laptop for engineering and I have been trying to get back into my study habits and work on the math that I will need,” the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder said. “I am trying to get in the gym more and I am working with some of the trainers we have helping out at Myer. I am trying to get better for football and for engineering.”
He knows playing football and studying engineering will be a grind.
“If I can just plan out my time and that is a skill that I will need to learn. It is something that I have struggled with and I really want to push myself out of my comfort zone to get better at it.”
Myer head coach Dave Buchanan will miss his team’s co-MVP.
“He is a really special player, a phenomenal person and a great student. He got into Waterloo engineering so that says a lot itself. He was a kid you never had to talk to about discipline or acting appropriately. He was well-raised and his mom did a great job with him and we are proud to have Arden represent us.”
On the football field, he was equally impressive.
“He had all the intangibles that you are looking for. He had good speed and size and more importantly he was the smartest player on the field,” Buchanan said. “He developed grit over time and that’s a big deal because he is going to another level. He had the ability to play offence or defence and you could put him anywhere. He could have been a quarterback and if he had played quarterback all the way through, he would have been recruited as a quarterback. He can do anything.”
Judging by the huge crowd of teammates and classmates on hand to watch the signing, Martinez is near and dear at Myer.
“He is accepting of all and welcoming to all of his teammates and he has always been that guy that no one has a bad thing to say about him,” Buchanan said. “He is a good person.”
Darrell Adams, Waterloo defensive coordinator, was on hand to witness the signing.
“I have known Arden for approximately two years and he epitomizes what we want to have at our linebacker position. He is going to play SAM linebacker for us and his versatility is what strikes me the most.”
Adams wanted Martinez last year but feels the extra year of high school has provided Waterloo with an even better prospect.
“It is his leadership. Coming back as a fifth-year senior, he had the opportunity to play with some younger guys and position himself better academically with better grades. Having seen him grow and mature from one year to the next is something we are excited about.”
Adams has made no promises to Martinez.
“We have a lot of talent at the position, especially with Jack Hinsberger coming off an injury last year. He is our projected starter for next year but Arden is going to bring some versatility and put up a fight. We will see what happens come next training camp.”
