Each week, Toronto Argonaut linebacker Mike O’Shea answers your questions. To submit a question to Mike please send an e-mail to askoshea@cfl.ca.
Michael,
I play on a football team and this is my first year. I’m 16, 255, 6’1 and I’m trying to convert to line backer and I’m not sure what I should do. What do you suggest I should do between now and February when tryouts for next year begin. My goal is to lose at most 20 pounds and gain muscle and speed. How should I do that?
A: This is proving to be a tough question because of certain beliefs I have and not knowing you personally. To start with any weight loss program should be under the supervision of a physician and do not confuse DIET (anything you consume) with diet (Atkins, Grapefruit, South Beach). Losing body fat and gaining lean mass would be beneficial to most athletes and starts with controlling your DIET. Begin by keeping a log of everything you consume in a week-food and drink. From this you can figure out the number of calories consumed and make a plan to eliminate calories you don’t need to fuel your body. Some simple ideas are to replace high calorie fluids with water and replace sugary processed foods with fresh fruits and vegetables. You have now set a goal and the question is whether or not you can make the right choices to reach that goal.
With regards to your position, I believe that the coach makes those decisions based on what is best for the team. You should approach your coach, tell him that you would like to play linebacker and ask what you need to work on to play that position. If you demonstrate to the coach an ability to take instruction and follow through with commitment and hard work you should always have a team to play for. If you do these things and you are still put in a different position understand that making the team is a goal in itself and TEAM always comes first.
Hi Mike,
You have played for a lot of different defensive co-ordinators in your life and in many different schemes, which defensive scheme is your favourite?
Jonathan G., Toronto
A: Obviously the current ARGO scheme would be my favourite. We have enjoyed defensive success and had fun being successful. Having said that, I have never ranked the defensive schemes that I have played in. I believe that all these systems have had merit and the ones that were not as successful owed their poor showing to lack of execution rather than X’s and O’s.
Mike,
How well do you think the D played on July 3rd against Hamilton? Do you think there is a lot of room for improvement on that side of the ball?
Brenda, Saskatoon, Sask. Die Hard Toronto Fan!!!!
A: As a group, we know we did not play Hamilton well. Personally, I missed several tackles and failed to execute my assignment on another couple of snaps. While there is always room for improvement, this lack of execution was an anomaly rather than the norm and I know we will continue on the path Argos fans have become accustomed to.
Mike O’Shea enters his 16th CFL season in 2008. He is a three-time Grey Cup champion and the captain of the Toronto Argonauts’ defence. He is the CFL’s all-time leader in defensive tackles by a Canadian and is second all-time on the overall list. In 1999 he was named the league’s outstanding Canadian player.
