Local high school quarterback represents Canada

Benjamin Maracle, a 16-year-old high school quarterback from Tyendinaga, a small Southern Ontario town of just over 4,000 people, will travel to Orlando, FL, to represent Canada as the U-18 Team takes on its U.S. counterpart in the North American Championship.

“I’m really excited to play on the level that this competition will bring because I know it will challenge me to become a better player,” says Maracle who will be playing with players who are older than him.

For the young quarterback, such challenges of playing above his age have not been uncommon in his life.

Growing up with two older brothers who were passionate about basketball, there was plenty of competition in the house.

“We learned by going against each other,” says Maracle, before adding that occasionally they would set up a net in their living room to play, inviting the expected scolding from their mother.

When Maracle reached eight, he picked up football as a way of distinguishing himself from his brothers.

“I never liked to follow their lead exactly. I just wanted to do my own thing and make my own story,” says Maracle, with a sense of gentle pride.

And he is indeed making a story for himself : an extraordinary one at that as well.

After eight years on the field, Maracle, a part of the Kingston Grenadiers junior varsity squad, finished his last season in the Ontario Varsity Football League with the most passes (144). He also completed 69 passes for 864 yards, as well as seven touchdowns. Based on all these numbers, he had a quarterback rating of 103.2. And now, he represents his country in the international games. 

However, in the earlier stages of his athletic journey, it seemed like a far-fetched dream to be who he is today.

Maracle, who wanted to play quarterback from the very first day he picked up football, had to play running back and receiver until 2014 as his coaches did not see the makings/skills of a quarterback in him.

Fortunately for the prodigy, his team in Kingston lost their quarterback in the summer of 2014 due to an injury and Maracle was given the opportunity to replace him.

On his debut game as a quarterback for the Grenadiers, he broke four varsity records including most completed passes and the longest throw completed in a game.

“I would want to thank the coaches who didn’t see me as a quarterback because they ultimately made me push myself to show that I can do it.”

With the towering physique of 6’4” and 190 lbs, the prodigy is easy to spot on the field above his fellow athletes, but his size is not the only thing that stands out.

Seemingly shy and reserved in his demeanour at first, one could quickly see that his seriousness and determined attitude about life transcends his age.

“Seeing so many people losing their lives doing dumb stuff drives me to be the best I can be,” explains the quarterback of the realities of his small hometown. 

According the promising athlete, one of the secrets to his success, in addition to training hard, is in the regular trips across the province in hopes of getting more exposure.

Through traveling, often for hours, to places outside of his area, he has been able to take the opportunity to play for Team Ontario and compete in the national football championship last summer in Winnipeg, ultimately getting the necessary exposure to pave his way to Team Canada.

Since then, he has dedicated himself to reach the highest level of football by connecting with different coaches to improve his game.

One of the few great coaches he met and, according to Maracle, a good friend, Warren Goldie, has been working with him for almost two years.

“Ben loves football. He lives and breathes it,” says Goldie, a former coach for the Queen’s Gaels who now runs a program to help athletes like Maracle reach their potential.

Goldie says he enjoys working with the young quarterback because he is such a hard worker who is dedicated to his game.

“You show him once and you never have to show him twice. He would always do his homework and come back ready,” says Goldie before adding that it is not surprising to see Maracle in the Canadian team.

The U-18 Canadian team, made up of 40 players from across the country, will face the U.S. team on January 28th in the ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.