Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
As the snow melts on the turf at Mosaic Stadium, Saskatchewan Roughriders players and fans alike are turning their attention to the 2010 Canadian Football League season.
The last time the Riders played a meaningful game at Mosaic Stadium was the 2009 West Division Final where the Riders disposed of the Calgary Stampeders on their way to a meeting with the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium.
Of course, we all know what happened there. The Riders blew a 16-point second half lead and STILL were in position to win with no time left on the clock however a “too many men” penalty afforded the Alouettes a second life.
Montreal kicker Damon Duval, who missed a 43-yard field goal one play earlier, nailed a 33-yarder to cap a 28-27 Alouettes’ comeback victory in one of the most memorable Grey Cup finishes ever.
Right after the game, shell-shocked Rider head coach Ken Miller said the outcome will haunt them, “for as long as we roam the planet”. Four months later, his comments ring true.
“There’s a lot of people who won’t let me forget,” laughed Rider kicker Luca Congi, who watched in horror from the sidelines as Duval’s kick sailed through the uprights. “Every time I try to forget, I run into someone around town (Waterloo, Ontario) who brings it up. They’re not rubbing it in but they’re like ‘tough loss’ and it takes you right back there. But I consider it a learning experience and part of football.”
Coach Miller said at his first media gathering of the new year that although they’ll never forget the ‘09 Grey Cup, they have to move on.
“A game like that, you’ll never forget,” Congi added. “That’s something that will be with you for the rest of your life. But you don’t want to dwell on it. You don’t want to sit there and think about it consistently.”
Congi made his comments while on a media tour promoting his first-ever Game Changers Kicking Camp which will be held during the May 1 weekend at Mosaic Stadium. He and teammate Jamie Boreham, the Riders’ veteran punter, are putting on the camp for teenaged kickers/punters on the prairies.
“Growing up in southern Ontario, I didn’t have a chance to really learn the fundamentals of kicking,” Congi explained. “I went through it by trial and error and that’s not a good way of learning kicking.”
“It’s nice to have a chance to learn the things about how to be a good kicker. It’s no different than schools for receivers, running backs or quarterbacks but there’s nothing for kickers.”
The camp is open to kids aged 13 and up although Congi says if an under-aged player applies, they won’t turn him down. The five-year veteran from SFU says the early teens are when football players start to specialize at their positions.
“It’s going to be a lot of instruction, and a lot of kicking obviously. There will be a lot of film review so kids can watch themselves, which I find is very important. It’ll be fun, but very information and a good weekend.”
CLICK HERE to download a printable brochure for Congi’s camp.
