MontrealAlouettes.com
Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
With the disappointment of an injury-ridden 2011 campaign firmly behind him, Luca Congi has moved from Saskatchewan to the greener pastures of Hamilton and the prospect of a competitive return.
While swapping uniforms and moving halfway across the country presents a challenge to any player, Congi is aided in his efforts to acclimate in Steeltown by the presence of some familiar Rider Nation flavour in the Black and Gold’s ranks. His journey back to competitive action is further supported by his presence in a familiar place, where the Waterloo native can easily access friends and family.
More than anything at the moment, Congi is simply ecstatic to be back on a football field and practicing with a CFL team after spending more than a year rehabilitating a knee injury. Forced to watch from the sidelines as the Roughriders completed their 2011 season in his absence, the veteran place-kicker cherishes the opportunity to return to the field.
“It’s amazing to get back into it and get back out here playing with the guys,” says Congi. “It’s hard to explain how difficult it is to be away. You get away from the game and you’re doing a lot of watching, analyzing and thinking. It was definitely tough to be away from it, and it taught me a lot about patience, dealing with adversity and overcoming obstacles. I’m just very thankful and humbled to be here and have this opportunity.”
Given his months spent on the shelf, it would be entirely reasonable to expect some rust from Congi at this early stage of the Ticats’ journey. Remarkably though, his performance on the training field suggest that the veteran has already hit his stride.
Congi indicates that much of his current comfort stems from the practice he managed while being held off of the playing field in Saskatchewan and has since continued in the off-season.
“Even last year when I wasn’t playing I was able to kick,” explains the Ticat kicker. “I made the most of my practice while I was out in Saskatchewan. I did the most that I could do to work on my technique and kicking. If I wasn’t playing I was surely going to do my best to keep getting better every day, and I’ve continued that through the off-season. I think that’s helped me to keep my momentum and my focus.”
Training camp has seen Congi take on a punting duty that had rarely been his in Saskatchewan. But while he has not served as a designated punter since his rookie season in 2006, the Ticat kicker indicates that the technique is something he practices routinely.
“I’ve always worked on my punting, even when I wasn’t doing it in games,” says Congi. “I punted in my first year in Saskatchewan, but I do feel great doing it. I’m going to keep working to get better, and that’s definitely something that I’m looking to achieve.”
Looking to make his mark on a new team, Congi is lent a measure of support by the presence of several teammates and coaches he worked with while wearing Roughrider green.
“It helps a lot,” says the veteran kicker of having his Saskatchewan connections in Steeltown. “Every time that you go somewhere new, it’s nice to have some familiar faces around. I get to play with Andy (Fantuz) and Coach Daley, and I worked with Coach Cortez when he was in Saskatchewan in ‘06. There’s a bunch of other guys who I played with too, and it’s nice because it makes everything more comfortable.”
Fantuz echoes Congi’s sentiment, adding that their comfort around one another translates directly to the quality of the on-field product.
“Luca and I are good, close friends,” says Fantuz, who was Congi’s holder in Saskatchewan and has continued that trend in Hamilton.
“We were very close in Saskatchewan and continue to be that way here. We had Coach Daley as a coach together for a year, so we do have that familiarity and when we hit the field together we haven’t missed a beat. We’ve been working together in the off-season and it’s showing.”
Fans of the Black and Gold will be hoping that together, Congi and Fantuz can find the form that carried them to success and stardom in the prairie province. With the support network that each have in place in Hamilton, such an effort undoubtedly becomes easier.
