Carson Huzij and Mason McLaughlin both hope to play post-secondary football some day.

Their goal in making the jump to the Football North prep program at Clarkson Secondary School in Mississauga is that the set-up that mirrors several of the American-based venues of this type allows them to hit the ground running when it comes to jumping into an NCAA or U Sports football environment next year or the year after.

"They are basically running this like a college (university) program in order to give us the maximum success at the next step," noted Huzij, a talented slotback/receiver who also captured gold at the city track championships in the 100m dash in May with a new record time of eleven seconds flat.

"The first major change I had to make was my film habits," Huzij added. "It's not only about watching game film. They really take it seriously here when it comes to watching practice film."

"We watch the film, find out mistakes and write down ways to correct them."

For as much as his athleticism had allowed him to shine as a key member of the three time champion Lo-Ellen Park Knights - in addition to his time in summer ball - Huzij realized pretty quickly that athletes of his ilk can be found around every street corner in the GTA.

"I really had to improve my overall football knowledge and football IQ," he said.

"I didn't really understand basic coverages and within five weeks here, my entire knowledge of football completely changed; things like understanding a defense and knowing how to manipulate a defense during a game."

"You need to eat, sleep and breathe football."

Making matters a little bit trickier is that the Football North program runs a schedule comprised entirely of games against U.S. based prep teams, with each and every encounter scheduled south of the border to maximize NCAA exposure.

All of which also entails playing by NCAA and not U Sports rules.

"When you have a defender a yard off the line playing hard press, you have to learn different releases to get him off balance, put him on his heels," suggested Huzij. "You have to attack leverages. I think that was one of the hardest things I had to adjust to."

One year younger, the adjustments that Mason McLaughlin has made in recent years were also critical as the 17 year-old running back who joined Paolo Grossi (Tabor Academy - Massachusetts) on the Team Ontario U18 squad that competed in Saskatchewan made his way to Football North just a few months back.

"I've developed a lot over the last few years - and that's been recognized," said the graduate of the Joe MacDonald Youth Football League. "I can compete with these guys, 110% - but the lack of speed causes me some challenges compared to other players."

"If I can get my speed up, I can open up more options for myself."

In a sense, his dreams of pursuing a football career beyond high-school led to some training habits that might not have been in his best interest - at least not long-term.

"I have been working out for the longest time," acknowledged McLaughlin. "When I first started playing higher level football, I got up pretty high with my weight, around 210 (pounds)".

"Then I started to cut down because I wasn't moving like a running back who wants to go somewhere."

Eventually sliding in at 185 or so, the gifted back reached a point where his need for speed and strength could strike a healthy balance.

"I finally realized that it's all about slow gain, gaining muscle at a slower rate so that I am not carrying just extra weight, but extra muscle. Now I am trying to add weight and speed - at the same time."

As for specific areas of his game that require attention, it honestly did not take long at all for the Football North coaching staff to begin to focus the northern lad towards improvements that will most help in the recruitment process.

"I think I am really comfortable running the ball and finding the hole - but I am putting a lot of work into the catching game," said McLaughlin. "I can catch the ball, but when it comes to getting open on a route, that's something coaches say I need to work on more."

Truth be told, there are very few skill sets that are not addressed with pin-point accuracy given the shere numbers of coaches on site.

"Originally when I was lead blocking, it was just run into the guy and put your shoulder down and hopefully you'll knock him off balance," stated McLaughlin. "Here, for lead blocking, we're adding more and more every day."

"I'm working with these guys learning about blocking with my hands."

For as much as games in Pennsylvania and Ohio and other such outlets are rich with college scouts, both Huzij and McLaughlin understand that their pathway may well lead them back to university ball in Canada.

"I want to have some good stats; I want to have a good highlight tape to put together; but the overall character that I am building right now is so important when I eventually go off to university, whether that's NCAA or U Sports," said Huzij.

"I'm just going to keep learning the teachings, follow what the coaches are saying and keep working as hard as I possibly can."

"I hope that I come out of it a better football player."