As policy, Ontario secondary schools offer students an option to stay in high school for a fifth year. Increasingly, some football coaches said their players want an extra year on the team and get it by choosing to extend their time in school.
At Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School in Caledon, Ont. the Wolfpack team is fresh off its 2025 Ontario Championship win. The team had six players who could have graduated the previous year but chose not to and to stay and play.
Shamus Bourdon, executive director of the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA), said Ontario high school students are allowed five consecutive years of eligibility starting in Grade 9. The rule has been around for decades, going back to when there was a fifth year, known as Ontario Academic Credits (OAC), formerly Grade 13.
Referencing a 2018 OFSAA study when the sports association last collected province-wide data, Bourdon said, “football had the highest percentage of returning athletes among all sports.” He added those stats showed one in 10 high school football players were in their fifth year.
Coaches might consider multiple factors when a player considers an additional season. Jonathan Beresford, a physical education teacher for 20 years and Robert F. Hall’s head coach of senior football, said he assessed their fitness and potential for a future in football. “Are they physically mature enough to go to the next level? That’s the conversation we have first,” and then he looked at their academic prospects.
There are a lot of questions for the players. “What are their options? Are they getting many opportunities thrown their way? Are they getting offers to play, to start or to walk on? That’s a big factor. Lastly, are the parents on board with them staying for a fifth year?”
Alessio Barbara, assistant coach for Robert F. Hall’s offensive line and the Junior Varsity Brampton Bulldogs agreed. He doesn’t think many players get scouted in four years of junior play unless they’re special and get spotted on video playback, or what the players call “film.”
In 2025, the team won the 905 Bowl, the Metro Bowl and the OFSAA Bowl, which the coaches believed was thanks in large part to several athletes who chose to stay for a fifth year.
One of those players, wide receiver Nicholas Pagani, who recently committed to York University, reflected on his decision to stay an extra year. In his Grade 11 and 12 seasons, Robert F. Hall lost to the St. Roch Ravens both years. “That was one of the main factors. I didn’t want to leave the school on two losses,” he said.
He had an offer from York in Grade 12, “but I had a bigger goal for myself. I knew that if I didn’t take the extra year, my development [in football] wouldn’t have been as strong as it was this year.”
Roy Van der Veen, also a Robert F. Hall graduate, is a running back for the University of Waterloo Warriors and delayed university in 2022 because he didn’t get to play during the pandemic. “Those two years that COVID-19 took away influenced my decision a lot, just because you need more experience in higher-level football.” He would have only had two years of playing. “That’s not a lot of film.”
Van der Veen’s decision shows the gamble that some Ontario high school students face – weighing delaying college against prospects at the next level in football.