Bonfil begins dream American football scholarship
Already a skilled soccer and basketball player, it was Izi Bonfil’s growing interest in American football when beginning high school at Sydney’s Masada College – and a schoolmate’s suggestion to join his local gridiron club, the Northern Sydney Rebels – that launched him on a pathway that’s now earned him a prized US college scholarship.
“The tactical and technical aspect of the game intrigued me,” Bonfil, 19, told The AJN on Tuesday from Missouri Valley College (MVC) – located about 60km east of Kansas City – where he arrived the previous week to begin studying, and training with the college’s NAIA Division 1 football team, the Vikings, who play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
“The thing I love most about the sport is the brotherhood and family you form with your teammates and coaches – everyone on the field has to be on the exact same page for a play to work,” he said.
“I’ve made lifelong friends with so many people as a result, including my current roommate at MVC and [Vikings] teammate, fellow Australian Bowen Flockhart.”
While most Australians snapped up by US colleges to play American football are punters (kickers), Bonfil doesn’t fit that mould.
The 2021 Masada College graduate began as a wide receiver for Northern Sydney when in year 10, before an injury toll in the squad’s defensive positions required him to shift to cornerback, where he learned to tackle, and was selected a year later as co-captain of the U19 team.
Opting to focus on playing as a defensive back, Bonfil said it was being selected earlier this year in the NSW Wolverines squad that was “the moment I realised that I had what it takes to play this sport at the next level”.
Sending his HSC results and video footage of his training and playing highlights to Australian-based US college athlete recruitment firm Green Room Futures, scholarship opportunities arose with Presentation College in South Dakota and MVC, and in late July, Bonfil accept the latter’s offer.
“My family was incredibly impressed with their (MVC’s) professionalism, and I had the benefit of having someone I knew (Flockhart) on campus already.
“The feeling once I saw my scholarship confirmation was a dream experience for me.”
Settling into life as a student athlete, Bonfil is impressed with the MVC campus’ mix of historic buildings and modern, state-of-the-art athletics facilities.
“Walking into the stadium for the first time … it honestly felt like I was home.
“My aims for football at MVC are to improve and develop as a player, to learn under our coaching staff, and to fully take advantage of every opportunity that I’m given.
“By the end of my time here, ideally I’d like to help win a national championship, as well as assume some sort of leadership position among my peers.”
Masada College’s head of sport, Matthew Pellett, said, “Izi was always a committed athlete and sportsperson at Masada, and we are very proud of his achievements thus far.”
Bonfil is the second Jewish Australian to earn an American football scholarship commencing this month.
Last December, The AJN reported how talented Melbourne 18-year-old punter Jesse Ehrlich – a Mount Scopus graduate and former AJAX junior – had secured a scholarship at California Polytech State University, to train with their Division 1 team the Mustangs.
Arriving last month to begin his first pre-season training, Ehrlich is being considered, along with American freshman Thomas Lee, as the replacement for departing punter Chris Bartolic.
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