At the top of the itinerary for Chris Balenovich’s days with the Grey Cup was a Friday afternoon visit to Notre Dame.
“It was the best five years of my life and my high school time was incredible,” said the Toronto Argonauts’ media relations manager. “It was all because of the sports that I played, the coaches, the teachers and my godmother and aunt was actually the guidance counsellor here. My formative years were so fantastic here at Notre Dame and they kind of made me who I am.”
The 34-year-old Welland native taught for four years in the Niagara Catholic board and spent a fair amount of time at Notre Dame. He helped Tim Bisci coach football and Chris Biggar coach baseball at the Welland high school.
“It is part of my home,” he said.
Head coach Bisci remembers him well.
“He was a helluva punt returner and he played DB for us and a little bit of receiver. The first year we went to an OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) Bowl, he had some big returns,” he said. “In the SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) game against Waterdown, he had a punt return for a touchdown and he had a second punt return inside the 10 which set up the winning touchdown. He was a big time, big play kid and he was a great athlete.”
