Former CFL player, now pastor, credits Sun Youth for keeping him on right path

CFL player-turned-pastor Andrew Henry says he owes much of his success in life to Sun Youth – and now he wants to help kids who were once just like him.

Now a church pastor on Montreal’s West Island and school board administrator in continuing education, Henry credits Sun Youth for helping him stay on a positive path when growing up.

Now he’s giving back.

“This was the full circle of life,” said Henry. “Someone helped me, now it’s my time. Now, it’s our time.

“The environment was conducive to growth and success and to happiness – that was the key. And so that’s how I feel. I walked in and I had that feeling again of joy and happiness. So, man am I glad to be here.”

At 14 years old, Henry immigrated to Montreal from Kingston, Jamaica. Sports became his passion and he fell in love with football, joining his local team.

“I played for the Saint-Laurent Spartans – go Spartans!” said Henry. “And we had a great rivalry with Sun Youth. The problem was, at the end of the year, what do I do?”

With no role model to look up to and living in what he calls a rough neighbourhood at the time, Henry is thankful Sun Youth took him in.

He caught the organization’s eye when playing against them on the football field.

“Earl De La Perralle was the head coach then of Sun Youth,” recounted Henry. “And of course, the late Earl De La Perralle, the co-founder of Sun Youth. He embraced us. He took us in and it was like, ‘hi Andrew, welcome.’ Immediately I was a part of Sun Youth.”

Henry went on the play in the CFL, drafted fourth overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1996. He played for Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Edmonton.

Today, Henry volunteers his time mentoring other children in sports.

“It’s stories like Andrew’s that remind us we’re doing the right thing,” said Tony De Francesco, director of sports and community outreach at Sun Youth. “I do think Andrew is an incredible human being, although he credits Sun Youth for a lot – and we’ll gladly take that credit – we know he’s just a great guy.”

For more than 60 years, Sun Youth has worked to keep Montreal’s young people off the streets and keep them active through positive role models – just like Henry.

And now he’s partnering with them and other organizations to lower school dropout rates by introducing teens to specific trades that may pique their interest.

Henry hopes to reach as many children as he can, but he says reaching even a single person counts as a victory.

“If one, just one, one child, one teenager, one young adult, one immigrant, can have an experience that is lasting and a life-changing experience, we would’ve done our job,” he said.