Waterloo welcomes another Ontario commit to their 2017 class.
Old friends, new team is the theme for Sidney Parkes, a defensive back from Crestwood High School, who has signed his letter of intent with the Waterloo Warriors.
In grade six, a young Parkes moved to Peterborough from the Niagara region. He left behind his peewee Niagara Generals (Ontario Football League) teammates and joined the Peterborough Wolverines (Kinsmen Minor Football League). Now, after six years, he will be rejoining some of his former teammates on the Warriors.
“Another thing that made me decide on Waterloo is now having the pleasure to reunite and play with old teammates such as Tre Ford, Tyrell Ford and Rushon Dangleman from Niagara,” Parkes said.
While reunion is in the back of his mind, Parkes’s was primarily drawn to Waterloo because of its coaching staff and academics. He said, “On the Football side of things, Coach Robichaud, defensive coordinator for the Warriors, made me feel very comfortable in an environment such as Waterloos. Head Coach Bertoia is a very enthusiastic man and he has brought in a staff who are all excited to make a change in their football program.”
The 5’9, 175lbs defensive player added that, “Having a person like Chris Bertoia as my head coach is something special. He intends to rebuild the winning tradition with this young group of athletes, and I’m very excited to be a part of this opportunity.”
Parkes was also overall impressed with the staff, saying that the university staff are very enthusiastic and motivated to rebuild to program to its former 1990s glory when they won two Yates Cups.
Courtesy of Sid Parkes.
The Crestwood Mustang (Kawartha District Athletics) is interested in Economics. He would like to branch out into Business Economics afterwards. “By that point, I’d like to find a co-op program related to what I want and to create a hands-on experience while getting university credits at the same time,” he said. “The University of Waterloo is one of the most prestigious schools in the country for academics and are well known for their successful co-op programs for business-styled students.”
Parkes football career is 12 years in the making, starting when he was six-years-old. He has won three high school championships. In grade ten, he was called up onto the varsity team as a running back and was able to acquire his first OFSAA ring. Two years later, in 2015, his team won a National Capital Bowl AA. This year, the 9-1 Mustangs beat Frontenac with a final score of 19-18. The win came off a missed Frontenac field goal, the final play of the game.
On the personal side, Parkes as been named an OFC all-star as a defensive back. He has multiple high school MVP awards and was a OFC JV team MVP in 2014. This will be his final summer playing with the Peterborough Wolverines. After that, the Waterloo Warriors and the U Sports league await.
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