Robinson says two teams is too many
Local youth football coaches are divided on the pros, cons of upstart Otters club seeking to play in Ontario Provincial Football League
Gabe Robinson won’t coach if there are two rep football teams in Peterborough.
The former Grey Cup champion was supposed to coach the Peterborough Wolverines senior varsity team in 2020 but the Ontario Football Conference season was cancelled by COVID-19.
Robinson said he’d like to coach in ’21 but he won’t commit to anything now that a new team, the Peterborough Otters, is applying to play in the Ontario Provincial Football League.
The Wolverines’ 2020 junior varsity coach Rick Thompson and bantam coach Christian Vesnaver have both resigned.
“I want to coach the senior varsity team in Peterborough,” Robinson said.
“If there are two teams, there are no teams, because there aren’t enough players, coaches, resources, etc., to carry two teams. We barely have enough for one.”
Sidney Parkes, a Wolverines alumnus, founded the Otters, under the banner of Kawartha Football, and has applied for an OPFL expansion team.
The OPFL is sanctioned by Ontario’s provincial sports organization, the Ontario Football Alliance (OFA), while the OFC broke away from OFA three years ago.
Parkes said his goal was to create a program affiliated with the PSO to provide development programs offered only to OFA teams. He says he has commitments from 50 players and last week opened up applications for coaches.
Robinson said one reason the Otters have caught on is Parkes has done a better job engaging players than the Wolverines in recent months. Parkes started a seven-aside touch league in the fall while the Wolverines were quiet after they cancelled their season.
“The Wolverines haven’t done a great job of engaging kids in the off-season,” Robinson said.
But Robinson said it’s not good for local football to split its resources. He’d like to see the Wolverines and Otters compromise.
“I’m not coaching if we can’t grow up and sit in a room and get ourselves organized to field one good team locally,” he said.
Thompson said he resigned Nov.11 because of family business which doesn’t allow him to commit to being a head coach.
He’s offered to work with Robinson as an assistant.
Thompson also believes two teams isn’t sustainable.
“Peterborough can’t support two rep football teams but there is always room for reflection and improvement,” Thompson said.
“The important thing is to get everybody at the same table and discuss what does this look like. Everyone is telling everybody it’s for football in Peterborough to be strong and it’s good for kids but the adults have to get to the table and discuss how this works.
“There are only so many players and so many coaches and only so much time.”
Vesnaver said he was coaching three teams, including high school and Kinsmen minor football, and he spread himself too thin with a young family. That’s why he resigned.
Vesnaver believes two organizations could coexist.
“Kawartha Football is about trying to make football better in getting players access to high-performance training,” Vesnaver said.
“The Wolverines do a great job and still do a great job. They can sustain themselves in Peterborough as well but what Sidney is trying to do is give players that chance to develop a little more readiness to get to the next step which we’ve never really had in the Kawarthas.”
Jeff Challice has no affiliation to either organization but has coached high school football for three decades. He doesn’t think Peterborough can sustain two programs.
“The Otters are hurting football in Peterborough,” Challice said.
“There is only enough room based on population for one team. That team is the Wolverines. The Wolverines are established and anyone wanting to help football in Peterborough should get involved with them. It’s not about ego or making money. It’s about giving kids a place to play outside of high school.
“Developing kids for the next level is important but way down the list,” Challice said.
“We don’t run AAA hockey to send kids to the NHL. We do it to better their experience along the way. The same goes for football.”
Alexandra Reyes-Walsh, chair of the OPFL expansion committee, said no commitment has been given to the Otters for a 2021franchise. She said she received an application from Parkes on Friday which will be reviewed next month by their expansion committee.
She said it’s important players, parents, coaches know the Otters are not yet a member of the OPFL.
The application must contain plans for governance, grassroots programs, sustainability and budget. The process also involves an interview of the applicant.
“We also look at what is the need in that area for an organization. Is there an existing one? All those factors,” she said.
“There are a lot of things to consider in terms of regions. Not all regions can support multiple teams.”
Each new team is on probation for its first season before earning membership voting rights, she said.