By: Monty Mosher

Change, much of it for the better, has been a constant for Mount Allison Mounties all-star free safety Nate Rostek.

Some of it has been tough, but much of it has been pretty good.

The 22-year-old Rostek, from Stillwater Lake, N.S., came to the football Mounties in 2014, the year after the Mounties had won their first AUS championship since 1997. Rostek started as a rookie on the Mounties team that repeated as conference winners, recording two interceptions against St. Francis Xavier in his first Loney Bowl.

But a tough loss to St. F.X. in the title game the following year at Mount Allison brought an end to the banners. It also was the last game for head coach Kelly Jeffrey, who moved on to an assistant coaching position with the Toronto Argos.

Assistant coach Scott Brady led the team for the next two seasons, but left suddenly last spring for an assistant coaching job at McMaster. Both moves came out of the blue.

Coach search took time

The search for Brady's replacement took some time, resulting in the hiring of former Acadia assistant coach Peter Fraser, a New Brunswick native, in February. Rostek, one of a handful of players remaining from his recruiting year, said there were players who didn't return amid the uncertainty.

But sometimes the positives take a while to reveal themselves. Those who did return, Rostek concedes, created a tight bond in the face of change and the current group would like nothing better to surprise by the end of the season.

The Mounties have a win and two losses, currently out of a playoff position, entering play this weekend against St. F.X. Rostek leads the team in tackles through three games and has crept into the top-20 in the conference record book.

Winning outlook maintained

Even with all the changes in recent years, Rostek said the program has maintained a winning outlook. "Losing is the farthest thing from guaranteed. It's also the farthest thing from being accepted."

Enough time has passed to cover over how dark the dark days were at Mount A football. Losing seasons, even winless seasons, became a habit for more than a decade.

A renewed commitment within the university and the broader community changed that. When Rostek was being recruited, Mount A had become a legitimate option for a football player hoping to win some games.

Rostek said he had high aspirations when he arrived. He came in with players like linebacker Damian Halstead, who is still there, and Shaun Robinson, a star talent who left after two years but made an impact while he wore the garnet and gold.

Change takes time

Rostek said he has no doubt how hard the Mounties worked in the hard times, but it was often difficult to turn around a perception that it was a losing program.

"I remember at one point in the beginning of my Grade 12 year a friend's father joked to me about signing there," he said. "He was an alumnus. I laughed it off and didn't think another thing of it even though I had been talking to Mount A. But by the end of that year there was a lot of change. You could tell there was a culture shift."

Fraser has had to rely on his veterans since the off-season was unsettled.

"Nate is a very good student and very tough physical player," said Fraser. "He exemplifies everything our Mount Allison program stands for.

"He is also a very good leader who sees the big picture and is an extension of the coaching staff in the locker room.  I have worked with Nate in his early days as a player with Team Nova Scotia while he was growing up and I am very proud of the young man he has become."

Many players have come to Mount Allison understanding they would have a good chance to get on the field early in their careers. Rostek started six games as a freshman, including the Loney Bowl win over the X-Men and a loss to McMaster in the Mitchell Bowl.

Team had turned the corner

There were good players there already, particularly on the defence. Kwame Adjei and Te Nguyen were two of them. But there were many others who had established a set of team-first values.

He conceded team morale took a hit with the recent coaching change. It did nothing to help recruiting either. The assistant coaches who remained did the best they could.

"In these smaller AUS programs, the head coach has so much responsibility to do so much for the program that when you are without that leadership, I think it did kind of scare some people."

It's different now. Rostek, who will graduate with a major in psychology this spring, has become the kind of leader he looked up to years ago.

"I think it is definitely on a big-time upswing," he said. "I'm very happy to be here playing for Coach Fraser in my last year.

"I'm excited for the rest of the season, but in addition I will be excited to watch these guys in future with the direction and leadership here. There is a great outlook for the Mounties program."

'Fortunate and blessed'

It's too early for too much reflection. There is more than half of a regular season to play with the prospect of playoff football in November.

Still, he's had to watch dozens of teammates take off the jersey for the last time, and his time is coming soon enough. He said he might even have been satisfied if the team had gone winless now and then during his years there.

"Looking back there are a lot of proud moments and a lot of disappointing moments as well, like the 2015 Loney Bowl. But overall, all the experiences together have culminated in where we are now and where I am now as a player. I'm far better off for the experiences. I'm fortunate and blessed to be in the position I am now. The Mounties have done a lot for me and I'd like to think I've done a lot for the Mounties."

(Monty Mosher is an award-winning sportswriter with more than 30 years covering university athletics. He can be reached at mosher100@eastlink.ca.)