
Noah Sidel
CFL.ca
Most kids with aspirations of pro football dream of two things –first making it to the big leagues, and then maybe getting a chance to play for their home squad.
After all, there are only a handful of players in the Canadian Football League currently wearing their home colours like Gene Makowsky in Saskatchewan or Jamall Lee in BC.
While Montrealer Anthony Barrette would be happy to play for any CFL club, suiting up for his hometown Alouettes would be his ultimate dream come true.
“Obviously it would be amazing to play for the Alouettes in front of my family and friends. However, playing for teams out West like the Stampeders or Lions would also truly be an awesome experience,” said the 6-foot-5, 320 pound offensive lineman, currently ranked 13th by the CFL Scouting Bureau.
Barrette has a lot of experience playing in front of home crowds. At his last major career crossroads, he chose to play CIS ball at Montreal’s Concordia University.
“It was the best decision of my athletic career to play for the Stingers. It’s one of the top university football programs in Quebec, and Concordia is only minutes away from where I grew up. That allowed my entire family and all my friends to see me play and for me to be more involved in my community,” Barrette said.
“It was also a good decision staying in Canada because CIS football is very similar to CFL football, giving me a solid foundation going into the draft.”
Barrette might have taken the biggest steps towards becoming a pro this past season when former CFL All-Star centre and Alouette alumnus Bryan Chiu joined the Stingers to help run the offence and work with the O-line in particular.
“Anthony is a big, strong man who has amazingly quick feet, plays very physical, and is fast,” Chiu said.
“He has played against a lot of great athletes in the Quebec Conference and done very well. He gives 100 per cent effort on every play.”
Chiu’s expertise helped shape Barrette’s training in 2010 as the future Hall-of-Famer focused on what his young protégé needed to do most to get ready for the next step.
“The biggest thing we worked on was his ‘kicks’, meaning the initial two steps out of his stance for pass protection,” Chiu explained.
“But I would say where he most improved was in the film room. Anthony spent countless hours studying film on how to improve and has definitely become a student of the game.”
Barrette was honoured to make the CFL Scouting Bureau rankings and credited the kind of hard work Chiu mentioned for getting on the list.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be ranked on a list of such talented players. Seeing my name on that list really encourages me to train my body and mind as hard as I can for the CFL Evaluation Camp in early March,” Barrette said.
“Prior to the 2010 season when I wasn’t ranked at all, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to have to make an impact this season to somehow get myself (noticed).’ With hard work and a die-hard attitude, I gave everything I could and I left everything I had on the field.”
Now that Barrette has gotten himself noticed, he will focus on trying to move up the rankings with a strong E-Camp performance that will hopefully result in being selected in the 2011 Canadian Draft.
“From the first time I stepped on a field I dreamed of playing in the CFL. Since I first started playing, my work ethic on the field and in the weight room has constantly been progressing,” he said.
“Making the CFL would be accomplishing a dream, not just for me but for my family as well.”