Matt Socholotiuk, former Waterloo Warriors footballer, eager to prove himself at CFL regional combine

There are countless stories at a gathering of CFL hopefuls such as Friday's regional combine in Toronto — the diamond in the rough, the late bloomer, the guy who was injured during his draft season.

Of all of them though, none might be more of a changed person across the past three years than running back Matt Socholotiuk, who's anxious to show he's outrun being one of the 'Waterloo Nine.' In 2010, the small-town athlete from Waterford, Ont., was in the headlines as the first North American athlete to test positive for human growth hormone after the University of Waterloo drug-tested its footballers following three players' arrest on steroid trafficking charges. After finding athletic salvation in mixed martial arts — and becoming a lean 205-pounder as opposed to the 247-pound bulked-up bowling ball back that he was for the grid Warriors in 2009 — he's giving football another shot.

The question was put to Socholotiuk. If CFL teams sit you down and ask about your past, how do you answer?

"It depends on what they ask," the 24-year-old says. "I was young and stupid and people make mistakes. But I think the first time you do something it's a mistake and the second time is a choice. I maybe got too overwhelmed and fell into the pressure of performing. Our [Waterloo] team was improving [after the '09 OUA season]. I think I just took it to the next level. I would never choose to do that again.

"You do it [take PEDs] becaause some things don't click, 'why can't I get that extra rep?' You know guys who are doing it and they could be in the position behind you. In sports it's, 'what have you done for me lately?' You could put up 20 reps on the bench press and all of a sudden your backup who did 16 is now doing 24, 25. It'sI either I start next year or I don't start."

It's one thing to retreat to big-city anonymity after a widely publicized fall. Socholotiuk ended up moving back to Waterford, a small community in rural Norfolk County. Not so long before, he'd been an admired athlete known as Dinger, the Waterford Wolves' 30-carry-a-game tailback who could also pass and placekick.

"It was extremely difficult, especially living in a small town where everybody knows everyone. If you're doing well, everybody's your best friend. If you slip up, you're going to get those weird looks, which is fine. Everybody's going to have an opinion. It was definitely tough. My brother [Jordan Socholotiuk] was still playing high school football and it was tough going to his games. You miss it so much you don't want to see anyone else play football, almost."

"It was embarrassing to go out in public," he adds. "I would have to get someone to get my groceries for me. Or I would avoid family gatherings. I would say it was like that for a good year and a half. I still trained."

Socholotiuk is 7-0 as an amateur fighter in MMA and won his pro debut in November, fighting on a card at Casino Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Que.

Matt Socholotiuk Vs.James Kouame from Benfaida Films on Vimeo.

Earlier this year, though, he was at a gathering in Waterloo with some football players and the CFL's evaluation camp came up in conversation. That prompted him to reach out to TSN analyst Duane Forde, who oversees the regional combines, about coming out.

"I would tell people, 'I want to get back into football' and they would say 'ya, ya, ya, I'll email some people' but if you want to get anything done you have to do it yourself," Socholotiuk says. "I decided to use social media to my advantage. I tweeted at Duane: 'what do you think about second chances?' He messaged me and it went from there.

"I'm thankful that Duane is able to put on these regional combines."

Socholotiuk almost immediately shifted gears from fighting to football, moving up to Waterloo so he could train at Sport Specific Training with A.J. Nagy, a former hockey player and brother of New Jersey Devils farmhand Kory Nagy. The running-back hopeful is grateful his parents, Nick and Kathy Socholotiuk, chose to help pay for his training while he worked as a bar bouncer. It even meant sacrificing a chance at a pro fight in Montreal on March 28, since there was no way to do both.

One sport prizes muscle mass, the other is about being lean.

"With MMA, I would do a lot of body weight exercises because adding muscle would put me in a higher weight class where I would be at disadvantage with me being not as tall. When I got on the bench press for the first time, it was definitely a shock at how low my number was."

'Legitimate prospect'

Three years off from playing, as a result of being suspended by Canadian Interuniversity Sport, means there's an obvious gap in Socholotiuk's development. However, his 40-yard dash time is in the 4.5- to 4.6-second range ("I'm more quick than I am fast so I'll be able to make up for it in the 20-yard shuttle and the three-cone drills," he says confidently).

"I'm really looking forward to seeing him,” Forde told the Brantford Expositor's Darryl G. Smart. “The reality is, everyone makes mistakes. If you want to look at the CFL specifically, the league is made up of guys that have been given second chances. Matt is a young guy and a legitimate prospect. He's motivated and deserves it. I hope he does well."

An irony is that Socholotiuk feels like he has his body back more so at 205 pounds than at a chemically enhanced 247. It comes back to taking ownership, which is part of growing up. He's hopeful "any team" will pick him up; he might explore using his final year of CIS eligibility. His supportive dad is actually moving to the boom town of Fort McMurray, Alta., for a new job, so he might even look after his brother during Jordan's Grade 12 year next fall.

"I'm going to have to find a CFL team that'll pick me up so I can live somewhere," he jokes.

He notes that not every athlete gets a second chance.

"There are people who have had injuries and haven't been able to play ever again. I can still do everything, I've just had a little bit of a delay."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.