Steve Howlett knows that his proverbial honeymoon as coach of the Varsity Blues football team is over. Almost exactly one year from the time he was hired to right the good ship Varsity, Howlett no longer sees the project as rebuilding, but of building on the positives, and cutting adrift the last of the negativity that has weighted down the program for the past eight seasons. The spotlight now off of the new coach, Howlett intends to focus on the heritage and tradition of the once-proud Blues program.
When Howlett first arrived, he was forced to re-evaluate his perceptions of what was wrong with the program. “The support from the external sources was there, and really had always been there,” says the coach, “but I was a little surprised by the complacency that had set in among some of the people involved with the team. After eliminating that element, I think that we have begun, and can continue, to build upon the foundations we established in my first year here.”
The coaching staff in place for the second year of Howlett’s plan remains largely the same as in 2003-a season that saw the team finish 0-8. Notably, former Queen’s University head coach Bob Howes will take on a consulting role in 2004, as Dan Crifo moves back into the role of Offensive Line coach, a position he had held since 2001. Also, Marius Locke, a former Blues player, will be stepping in to help fill the expected void that the strains of fatherhood will put on incumbent defensive backs coach Aaron White.
Former Toronto Argonaut player Keith Castello will be brought aboard to assist in the coaching and development of linebackers. Howlett expects the former professional to bring a much needed frame of reference to a Blues team that often looked, last season, like it was playing in a high school game. Howlett hopes that this shuffling of coaches and the addition of Locke and Castello will help get the young Blues prepared for the challenges they will face each week in the very competitive Ontario University Association (OUA).
With fellow OUA teams undergoing various levels of upheaval, 2004 could become a season of competitive football for the Blues. However, Howlett is not a false optimist. “Of course, I would like to win every game we play,” he says, “but that isn’t the criteria I set out for the success of these players, or my team.”
The best measuring stick for the Blues, says the coach, is the solidity of the team’s identity. According to Howlett, these athletes are not just football players for the university, but guardians of the tradition of the past glory and sorrow of the program’s entire history. To be a Varsity Blue is something that Howlett feels is integral to playing football at this school.
As his players raise their standards, Howlett thinks it is time that the support structure around the Varsity program be brought up to speed. Or at least brought on par with the other tradition-rich football programs in Ontario. “It is important for the alumni to contribute financially, but obviously it has to be perceived by them as more than just writing a cheque once a year,” says Howlett.
The Blues took the step this year of reaching out to alumni who could directly impact the team’s on-field product. They invited a number of former Blues who now coach at the high-school level to the annual team banquet.
The Blues have also been striving to increase their profile in the Ontario minor football scene. In December, the Blues hosted a scouting combine for Ron Dias’ “All-Star Football,” the largest football prospect identification and scouting service in the province. This granted the coaching staff access to a large number of prospects, an effort that is helping the Blues’ popularity grow. “For the first time, I have heard kids from Alberta mention U of T in their top three choices for schools,” said Howlett. “When I was coaching in Alberta, this was unheard of, and I think that we are doing a lot to change the perception of the school, for athletes.”
Howlett also has plans to reinstate the annual football camp for high school kids this coming spring. The Blues coaching staff hope that this camp will attract a large number of players within the city, perhaps helping the team loosen the strangle-hold York University has held on the Toronto talent pool in recent years.
Although Howlett doesn’t see York as any more or less competition for recruits than any other OUA school, the booming Toronto minor football scene has been an area of recent recruiting riches for York, while it has gone virtually untapped by the Blues. Overall, the hope is that the Blues program can establish relationships with “feeder” schools, much like other OUA teams have managed to accomplish in their respective cities.
What Howlett stresses more than anything else is that despite a turbulent first season, the vision for the team remains the same. The Blues are not a football team based on winning and losing so much as they are based on the tradition and heritage of those that came before. If this foundation is laid, Howlett believes, then success will inevitably follow.
All things considered, Howlett is keeping his promise to re-establish the pride of the Blues. Although there is an obvious gap between the Blues program and the successful OUA programs (think McMaster and Queen’s), the U of T team always stands a chance in the fluctuating league. While no one involved with the Blues has Yates Cup (provincial championship) delusions for 2004, it will be very interesting to watch as Howlett marshals his forces to compete in the always entertaining OUA.
