Shawn Windsor was a Grade 9 student at Saltfleet High School in Stoney Creek when he first held a rugby ball in his hands.

He's been holding it ever since and, now 33, the St. Catharines resident is showing no signs of loosening that grip.

A member of the Stoney Creek Camels at the club level since age 16, Windsor capped his high school career with an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championship in 2005 before going on to take four conference titles at McMaster University in Hamilton.

Though he also won two national senior men's championships with the Ontario Blues and played on a Toronto Arrows team that was first in the Eastern Conference when the 2020 Major League Rugby season was cancelled by COVID-19, he dismissed any suggestion he has a Midas touch when it comes to success on the pitch.

"I was just lucky, I guess, to be a part of that program at the time," the new head coach of the Brock University men's team said of his time at McMaster.

Under coach Phil White, the Marauders set the "gold standard" for men's university rugby in Ontario.

"He did a great job bringing guys in and building a team with such a reputation. We just had a great team all-around," Windsor said. "It wasn't just me, I know that.

"Hopefully, I can kind of continue that and take what I learned from there to Brock."

He suggested in addition to skilled players and coaches who knew how to utilize that talent, the common thread tying all of his championships together was strong bonds between teammates.

"I have always said, the biggest championship I ever won was the high school championship at OFSAA because they're your friends," said Windsor, now back at his alma mater teaching history and civics.

"You're around them all the time through four, five years of high school."

He felt he was "in the same boat" at McMaster.

"You're practising four or five times a week in the fall, then you're into off-season training. You're always around the guys," he said. "The most important thing is just having that bond together.

"We got along so well. That just translated to the success on the field."

At Brock, he is inheriting a program from Phil Sullivan that captured the bronze medal at provincials and won the consolation final in its first appearance at nationals.

Windsor is eager to start building on that success.

"The main thing is we just get everyone back to normal, or as close to normal as we can," he said. "It's going to happen eventually, so I'm not too worried about that.

"I'm just excited that when it finally does happen, we can get the guys out there and get going again."

Some sports - especially, at the professional level - are considering resuming play without fans initially.

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Windsor, who served as an assistant on Sullivan's staff last season, suggested players would miss out on a lot should that happen with university rugby.

"It's just like any other sport, having the fans out there is amazing, and I know the guys at Brock love it," he said. "When we played during homecoming last year, it was so much fun. The fans were great."

The Badgers also hosted the bronze medal game at Ontario University Athletics championships.

"The guys really fed off of the fans. They like seeing their friends and family out there and having them cheering for them," Windsor said. "It's absolutely huge for the guys, especially at Brock, with there being no football.

"Everyone likes having their family and friends watch them play and see them accomplishing something. I think it definitely benefits the guys."

When Windsor talks about fans being like an extra player in rugby, he's speaking from the experience of playing at the pro, national, provincial, collegiate, club and high school levels.

"It always has for me. I want to show people what I can do," he said. "I'm not just putting in all this time and effort for nothing."

The Arrows - the lone Canadian team in Major League Rugby - were 4-1 when the season, which traditionally runs from January until June, was cancelled.

During Sullivan's six years as Badgers head coach, the men's team became a full-year program with an OUA schedule, Sevens competitions and off-season training. He will remain with the team in a managerial role, freeing Windsor to focus on coaching.

Bernd.Franke@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1624 | @TribSportsDesk