Elijah Fera, Wilfrid Laurier University varsity football player, knows first hand that success doesn’t follow a straight line.
Fera, a Windsor Ontario native, grew up playing the sport he loved at Catholic Central high school as the school’s running back.
Fera’s high school football career abruptly came to an end when he was unable to attend and complete high school in person.
In a less than ideal situation, Fera managed to stay focused and took it upon himself to complete high school by taking online classes and attending adult school for almost two years.
Fera managed to teach himself the skills and earn valuable credits in order to achieve his ultimate goal of one day attending Laurier and suiting up for the Golden Hawks.
As if life wasn’t already throwing enough obstacles at Fera, he received the tragic news that he had torn his ACL, MCL and PCL.
He was told by doctors that he may never be able to play the game he loves again.
Fera had surgery to try and limit the damage and in the process, doctors ended up removing his meniscus.
The physical damage took a hard toll on Fera’s body, as the effects of the injury were long lived, keeping him sidelined for two years and not being able to even run or workout for 6 months.
Before his injury, the last official game that Fera was able to play in was in 2014 when he played for the Essex Ravens of the OVFL.
Through lots of hard work, determination and lots of long nights spent catching up, Fera is now studying Arts at Laurier and is also member of the Golden Hawks football team.
When asked about Laurier, Fera’s response was honest and genuine.
“The staff really stuck with me after my injury. Most schools, once they heard I was injured, just didn’t really want to talk to me anymore.”
“The coaching staff here is very loyal. I’m a loyal guy and when I see that kind of respect I knew I just had to commit,” Fera said.
Although playing on mostly special teams in two earlier games—one against Montreal and one against Queens—Fera noted how special the game against the York Lions was for him, as he finally got to play on offense.
“That last game was my first touchdown and my first time getting actual carries,” he recalled.
Fera picked up 69-yards in 10 attempts and most notably, recorded his first OUA touchdown in a 74-3 beat down against the also undefeated York lions in front of a packed university stadium welcoming the class of 2020.