When former Halifax Wanderers defender André Bona started his new job as a teacher and coach at Rothesay Netherwood School near Saint John, NB in September 2021, there was a buzz in the air.
“The first year when I arrived, I remember every student from grade 6 to 12 was looking at my profile online,” André Bona said from his home in New Brunswick.
“Some of the kids went to Halifax to the Wanderers shop to buy a Bona jersey, brought it back to class, and asked me to sign it. It was kind of madness the first year.”
Bona just wrapped up his fourth school year at the prep and boarding school in Saint John, where he teaches French, social studies, history, and geography. He’s also the head coach of the varsity boys team for grades 10 through 12.
It’s no surprise that Bona ended up combining school and soccer. He came to Canada from France for school, finishing a master’s degree in Environmental Science at Université du Québec à Montréal, where he caught the eye of the Wanderers and was selected 10th overall in the inaugural CPL U-Sports Draft. While in university, he was tutoring and teaching, so the combination of teaching students in the classroom and coaching on the field was always in the back of his mind as a possibility.
For Bona, the chance to play the highest level of professional soccer was too good of an opportunity to pass. During the 2019 season, he made 25 appearances in Canadian Premier League and another six in the Canadian Championship — including the second round where he scored in a 2-0 away win in the second leg against Valour FC.
What sticks out the most in Bona’s mind about his time with the Wanderers is the connections he made.
“I would say the friendships that I created (in Halifax), on the pitch and beyond the pitch. I’m still in touch with some Wanderers fans,” Bona said.
After the 2019 season, Bona stayed in Halifax for a couple of years, where he was an assistant coach with Dunbrack U15AAA Boys and also taught at École Mer et Monde.
Now, he gets to share the lessons he learned from his time with the Wanderers with the next generation of players in Saint John’s soccer community, including students at Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS).
“First and foremost, I say to them that nothing is impossible. Like they need to have this belief that they can achieve whatever,” says Bona.
How to be strong mentally, sharing about the sacrifices that have to be made when playing at a high level, and dealing with adversity are other key lessons and experiences he shares with his students.
Being a former Wanderer brings credibility, so when he shares his professional experiences, students listen. He also shares the importance of balancing school with sport and how he found a correlation between how he was doing in school and how he would perform on the pitch.
His students will have the chance to see the Wanderers in action close to home when the International Summer Series makes a stop in Saint John on Saturday, July 12. Halifax will take on Wrexham A.F.C. as each side’s U21 squad will play throughout Atlantic Canada. It’s the third edition of the annual tournament featuring the best local talent in Atlantic Canada against clubs from overseas.
“Having Wrexham’s youth team come here, that’s a pretty cool thing.”
Bona still plays soccer and is involved with the Saint John Soccer Club, an organization with players of various age groups. There’s a lot of excitement within that organization to have the opportunity to watch the match and for some, even participate as ball kids.
“When you’re six, seven, nine (years old), you have this dream and say maybe one day it will be me on the other side,” says the defender from France who was 13 when he joined the academy of Ligue 1 team Olympique de Marseille.
For Bona, the youth in Saint John having this opportunity at the International Summer Series brings him back to his time when he was their age, seeing world-class players including Franck Ribéry and Didier Drogba up close.
“Seeing them, even at the training ground — that’s big, that’s a memory you keep forever,” reflects Bona.
Last year, the International Summer Series squad included three players from New Brunswick, all from Moncton (Jon Kandinda, Ayouba Kamara and Luka Robichaud). A goal of Bona’s and the Saint John Soccer club is to eventually create a pipeline of young talent and have players from the Saint John area crack the Wanderers U21 team. Before the match against Wrexham, Saint John Shamrocks — who compete in the New Brunswick Premier Soccer League — will host the Wanderers U21 team.
“If we can send two or three players each year, that will be amazing,” says Bona.
The International Summer Series comes to Saint John on Saturday, July 12 at 1:00 PM at Jeux Canada Games Stadium. Tickets are available by clicking here.