Don Landry
CFL.ca
They’ll have no love for each other once July arrives, but in the off-season, CFL opponents can put the gridiron animosity aside for the greater good, and work out together under the same roof.
Why, they can even coach each other up, a bit.
It’s Thursday morning, just after nine when I arrive at the Hershey Centre Sports Complex in Mississauga. I look around the cavernous facility big enough to hold two indoor soccer pitches and see a wide array of colours and logos.
There was Eskimo green, Ticat gold, Argo blue and Stampeder red dashing back and forth across the field. There were also some without any official colours, as free agents – all hoping to get another shot in the league – were also present.
About twice a week, in numbers ranging in the neighbourhood of 20 or so (it’ll be up to about 30 on any given day once training camps start to come into view in late spring) CFL players from teams all over the country come to help each other train.
They run drills together, they talk strategy and diet and they push each other to perform at higher levels, all in the name of getting ready for the 2012 season, which is still more than three months away.
The room is dominated by those who live in Southern Ontario – especially by those who play with the Argos and Tiger-Cats. However, players from the CFL’s West Division such as Stampeders defensive lineman Junior Turner and Edmonton receivers Tyler Scott and Matt Carter are known as regulars.
“We all have mutual respect for each other,” began Scott, when asked whether it seemed strange to help out guys who are also opponents come kickoff weekend. “We’re all kind of friends with each other off the field, even though we play for all different teams during the season.”
Their ringleader is Argonauts slotback Andre Durie. He rides shotgun on the proceedings, takes part in the drills and even lugs loads of equipment in and out of the training area when needed.
“A lot of the local guys, we kind of grew up in the area together playing football against each other,” said Durie. “We wanted to kind of keep that same competitive edge and get better together. And build Canadian football as well, bringing in some younger guys from universities and high schools to train with us as well.”
Initially, the off-season sessions were an Argonaut-only exercise, beginning after Durie’s rookie season in 2007. It was later decided to open it up to others in the area and it’s grown from there.
This is no casual concern, either. It’s two hours of serious physical activity. No slouching, according to Durie.
“We try to keep the tempo up. You have to work when you’re here. That’s the type of mentality we instill in everybody.”
There are wind sprints, cone drills, hurdle drills and pass patterns, tennis balls thrown at players as they move back and forth, laterally, as fast as they can. In one area I see players working on the hurdles.
In another, receivers run crisp routes and haul in passes, one after the other. Off in a distant corner I see Hamilton long-snapper Kevin Scott firing ball after ball after ball through his legs to kicker Luca Congi, who recently signed a contract with the Tiger-Cats.
Congi could go off on his own, somewhere and just hammer footballs with his foot, but he likes the atmosphere created by Durie at Hershey Centre.
“Any time you can work with great athletes it’s only going to make you better,” said Congi.
“I think it’s a great tool. We come out here and get our work in and call it a day. It’s good. It’s a lot of great work and that serious competitiveness is always a great thing to have, especially in the off-season. Because, in the off-season you do a lot of stuff on your own so it’s nice to work out with guys who are in the same boat as you. We’re all here with the same goal and that’s just to get better.”
The music is pumping, and one-liners and zingers add a little pepper to the proceedings. They’re buddies helping each other get to peak performance, but occasionally things can turn a wee bit testy, according to Scott.
“Believe me, there are jabs that go on here every day,” he explained. “But, we’re all good together. Although, when we get into the one-on-ones it can get heated sometimes. But we all know we’re out here for the same purpose – to get better for the upcoming season.”
Durie knows the benefits of these get-togethers, which can also include at times receiver Andy Fantuz and Argo kicker Noel Prefontaine (though they are absent this day). He also knows there’s too much at stake to risk anybody’s career with any real collisions.
“We don’t do a lot of physical contact,” offered Durie. “We keep it very safe. No contact. And when we’re doing one-on-ones, it’s strictly ‘shadow’, no diving for balls, things like that. We play smart, but play fast.”
Not only is the indoor field area at Hershey Centre perfect for football purposes, it’s management has provided a welcoming atmosphere for the CFLers, according to Durie.
“They’ve been amazing by being able to accommodate us in the morning. They open up two hours earlier than usual so we can come in and run our football specific stuff. They give us the field for a cheap price, too, just five bucks for each guy to get in here. That’s a steal.”
That’s a sentiment the other players echoed. They return the favour, treating the facility and its other tenants with respect. A couple of minutes before their session is over, Durie reminds them to be done and off the field at 11 o’clock sharp. They pick up benches and other items that they’ve moved out of their way and return them to their rightful spots. And are off the field at 11, as a gaggle of soccer players breeze past them and onto the pitch.
The day is done, and workout buddies scatter from the facility. Scott will be back.
“There’s a competitive spirit out here,” he said, illustrating the benefits of the collective. “You’re going to work harder when someone is pushing you harder. If there’s a guy in front of me who’s going harder than I am, I’m going to do better than him because I know that either he’s coming for my job or I’m gonna go against him this year.”
That’s when the friendships will be pushed to the back burner and they can once again turn to the job of trying to beat each other on the field. For now, ironically, those competitors are satisfied with helping each other get better at that job.
