ZACK DUGUAY MEMORIAL

Each event tells a story. This story is about a beautiful young man, his family and football. As you read this letter, I encourage you to give some thought to how you can help ensure that another young man has the opportunity to fulfill his dream to excel in football.    Please read the story….

Zackery Duguay has been described as a gentle giant. He was a caring, quiet, loving person, who had a strong love for his family but an even stronger passion for football. At the young age of just 10 he was diagnosed with epilepsy. This diagnosis never stopped him, even when he’d experience seizures during both practices and games. He continued his passion and love of the sport through The Niagara Regional Minor Football Association (6 years), High School (West Park and Denis Morris), Ontario Varsity Football league (Niagara Spears) Canadian Junior Football League (Hamilton Hurricanes) and was about to start a new chapter attending McMaster University with hopes of becoming a Marauder and playing football with the then CIS Champions. On August 2 2012, Zack, his sister Jocelyn and mother Kelly ventured once again to Hamilton. They finally found a house where Zack and his sister would be living while Zack attended McMaster and handed in the rest of his papers to officially register him at the university, he was extremely excited for this new adventure as they went home.

However, the perfect day ended in tragedy when his parents were awakened by a loud noise coming from his room, Zack unfortunately did not pull through this seizure and it claimed his life on August 3, 2012 ending all of his dreams at the young age of 21. Zack’s family and friends have a desire to share his story for so many reasons. Zack’s persistence and drive is very influential for people of all kinds. Zack never gave up, no matter what happened. Even after experiencing a seizure on the field, he’d simply take time to recuperate then jump back in to help his team mates- he never wanted to let them down.  His loving and caring attitude towards his family, especially the bond he had with his father Brian who coached Zack for more than half of his football career, the adoration he had towards his older sister Jocelyn and when all else failed he was the biggest mommy suck with his mother Kelly. Last but not least his passion for football, not only did he dedicate his life towards playing this sport, during the off season you’d find him sharing his knowledge with young  athletes still learning this sport and helped his father coach the Niagara Spears.