Timing is everything. That’s true as much in football as it is in life.

When Grant Shaw was sent for a time out after he was cut by the junior Edmonton Huskies, he did not give up on his dream.

Instead, he took a two-year hiatus to reflect on just what it was that was holding him back.

Today, Shaw describes himself as an athlete who can kick as he enters his seventh year in the CFL and fifth with the Edmonton Eskimos. Not to mention, as a Grey Cup champion.

Yet, there was a time when Shaw was a kid with an attitude that nearly derailed his aspirations to play on a bigger stage.

“Originally, when I went to junior football as an 18-year-old, I was cut from the team,” Shaw said. “I didn’t play football for two years out of high school. At that moment, it helped me mature, because I had to reflect on my life and wonder why I got cut from the team while all my friends were making it.

“It was a bit of an attitude issue I had while I was in high school.”

Shaw had plenty of time to reflect of what had gone wrong and what he needed to do to get back in the game.

“I realized how much I loved it and how much I missed it and how much I needed to mature as an individual,” said Shaw. “When I went back, I was a different person with a different mindset. I really learned what it meant to be a team player and how to do things right every day, day in and day out, when nobody’s watching. Those are the things that are really important and I credit it to the life skills I learned at the time that I still carry forward to this day.”

As it turned out, his timing couldn’t have been better.

Going through a self-imposed attitude adjustment is one thing. Playing two years of junior football right at the time the Huskies won back-to-back Canadian championships was another.

That’s when the kudos started pouring in.

Not only was he named to the Prairie Football Conference all-star team at defensive back, he was named kicker of the year and special teams player of the year.

“I wasn’t ready for university yet, so it was an eye-opening experience getting cut,” Shaw said. “The team welcomed me back. I was a different person and that’s what I really needed at the time. I was in the background in my first year there, so I got to see a lot of things. I wasn’t the feature player on the team. I got to win one that way, then in 2005, I had my coming-out part and that’s when my individual career began to really take off. We were fortunate enough to have team success.”

Players on championship teams tend to get noticed.

Those championships and how Shaw was able to contribute, after taking over the kicking duties, helped him get to the next stop. Still playing for a team called the Huskies, but this time at the University of Regina.

“More importantly, when I went to the Huskies from high school, I was kind of labeled as not being a hard worker and not a team player, so my coaches couldn’t really speak highly of me,” said Shaw. “This time around, when I finished my junior tour with the Huskies and the Saskatchewan Huskies came knocking on the door based on my football film, luckily this time around, the coaches could say positive things about my character and share with them how much I’d matured and how hard of a worker I’d become. I was team captain and things had changed. It was a very different scenario.”

Shaw continued to impress on the field and in 2009 was named a Canada West all-star as both a defensive back and kicker, before being selected in the second round, 11th overall by the Argos in 2010.

“Junior football was not only about becoming a football player, but they really teach you how to be a good person and become a man.”

During his pro career, Shaw has demonstrated he’s capable to making a game-saving tackle even though his role changed to special teams.

“I’ve got my role on the team and I’ve embraced it,” said Shaw. “Whether kicking a game-winning field goal, kicking the ball into the corner of the end zone of making a game-saving tackle if need be, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Based on his experience, Shaw would recommend that players who have pro aspirations not overlook what junior football can give them.

“I’d definitely recommend to all guys to go to junior,” said Shaw. “You’re trying to become a man and work a full-time job during the day and play football at night. You really become family and develop a bond. If you can get that an take that to a university team, I think you’re leaps and bounds ahead as opposed to a freshman who goes to university at age 18.”