By Tim Switzer,
Regina Leader-Post
University of Regina Rams offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte had to show his speed in the 40-yard dash Friday as the team tested its players before opening training camp today.
It’s too bad he didn’t have his race car to help him out.
Like he has for the last six summers, the 20-year-old Weyburn product spent much of the offseason racing cars at the Estevan Motor Speedway.
LaBatte began racing as a 15-year-old (drivers only have to be 14 years old to race in Estevan), following in his father, Dale’s, footsteps. The elder LaBatte raced cars until the early 1980s in Estevan, but had been away from the sport for nearly two decades when his son decided to give it a go.
“The whole family liked working on the car together and I just kept going with it,” said Brendon LaBatte, whose 15-year-old sister, Lindsey, began racing this summer as well. “Before that I ever really did anything mechanical. My dad knew how to do it and I just learned from him and gradually learned how to drive.”
And while it may be hard to believe, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound lineman can fit behind the wheel of a race car.
“The new car we have is a lot better,” LaBatte said with a chuckle. “The old one was pretty tight. It was a modified too, but it was a little older and it was tight.”
The extra weight in the driver’s seat didn’t slow him down much either. LaBatte finished 13th in IMCA Modified point standings this season. He drives a car built on a 1968 Chevelle frame with a 500-horsepower engine.
Drivers can reach speeds close to 100-miles-per-hour on the straight-aways on the 3/8 of a mile track, but LaBatte tries not to think about potential injuries adversely affecting his football career.
“You can’t really go out there and avoid the wrecks because that seems to be when you get into them,” said LaBatte. “(Rams head coach) Frank (McCrystal) isn’t too keen on it. He likes to give me a hard time.”
This summer was a good one to avoid injury on the race track. LaBatte is likely to begin a second season starting on the Rams’ offensive line that should be unchanged from last season.
This is LaBatte’s third official season with the Rams. He red-shirted for the 2004 season after coming to the U of R from Weyburn Comprehensive High School. With four years at university under his belt, LaBatte will be eligible for the CFL draft next spring and there is talk around Regina that he will be selected.
“I’d really like to get a shot to play at the next level,” said LaBatte. “I don’t really know a lot about it so it’s kind of uncharted territory from here on.”
There haven’t been many CFL players come out of Weyburn, but LaBatte just wants to let the process take its natural course. He was one of four Rams to play in the East-West Bowl for players entering their draft year in Quebec City in May.
“It felt like you were under the microscope all the time,” said LaBatte. “Every move you took, there was 10 guys watching so there’s a lot of pressure.”
But during the East-West Bowl banquet, while other players approached representatives from CFL teams, LaBatte stood back.
“I’ll do what I can, but it just didn’t feel appropriate to be going up (to scouts and coaches) when there were other pressing issues like the game,” said LaBatte.
The Rams will be on the U of R football field for two-a-day practices on Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m.-10 a.m. and 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
