Reid signs with Beefeaters
Ethan Reid’s quarterbacking career will continue in London.
The 12B student at St. Francis recently signed with the London Beefeaters, who compete in the Ontario Football Conference, a division of the Canadian Junior Football League.
“I’m just happy to keep playing football post secondary because it is a game that I love,” the 18-year-old St. Catharines native said. “They are a really good team, they won the OFC conference championship last year and they are looking to go back-to-back this year.”
The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder couldn’t see himself not continuing in the sport.
“I have been playing for a long time and when you love something so much, you will do anything to keep playing,” he said. “It’s also convenient and I definitely feel I have the skill set to be able to play in the league and compete with those players.”
He knows that there are things he needs to work on to succeed at the next level.
“I have to put on a little more muscle, I need to learn the playbook and I just have to continue practising my skills.”
A release from the London team described Reid as a “tall, big-armed quarterback with lots of starting experience at the OPFL (Ontario Provincial Football League) and high school level which we feel will be a great addition for the London Beefeaters’ offence for many years to come in the OFC. On top of which, Ethan is a highly recruited kid who has decided to attend Fanshawe College in London. We look forward to a bright future to come.”
Reid, who hooked up with the team after coming across its Instagram page, is joining a team that is looking to develop him.
“They have two fourth-year quarterbacks coming back so mostly it will be a learning role to start and maybe I will get in the fourth quarter,” he said,
Reid, who plans to study business at Fanshawe, had some interest from Ontario University Athletics programs but felt university wasn’t the right path for his future career.
“I talked to a lot of schools, but at the end of the day it just came down to what makes better sense for me in the end,” he said. “Does it make sense for me to go do a university program that when I am done, are there lots of jobs out there? Would that piece of paper get me a job at the end of the day? I don’t think so.
“It made more sense for me to go this route compared to going the university football route.”
Reid, who played five seasons with the Niagara Spears and St. Francis Phoenix, will be missed by his former teams.
“He was a consummate leader and a student of the game,” St. Francis head coach Jim Whittard said. “He was happy to work on his game in the every aspect from sitting with me in my office working on strategy and discussing his own next steps and areas of strength and needs.”
Whittard liked Reid’s passion for the sport.
“He loves the game on and off the field and has a deep concern and appreciation of his own teammates,” he said. “Ethan was always appreciative of the work we do as coaches and is a great kid.”
Since ending his schooling at St. Francis, the 18-year-old St. Catharines native has been living with his aunt and uncle in Bowmanville and working for his uncle’s business.
He had plans to play football with the Oshawa Hawkeyes in the Ontario Football Conference before the season was cancelled.
“I am able to work out at their home and I am throwing the ball around with my cousin,” Reid said. “It’s nice that I am able to work out and keep up my skills.”
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