Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
The Tiger-Cats took their workout on the road on Tuesday, travelling to Waterloo for their final regional practice of 2012.
The team was warmly greeted by a crowd of over 1,000 at the University of Waterloo’s Warrior Field.
Tiger-Cats Head Coach George Cortez was pleasantly surprised by the exceptional turnout on Tuesday, particularly given the practice’s midweek placement.
“I was a little surprised when we got here by how many people were here,” said Cortez in the wake of the morning workout.
“It’s not like it’s Sunday afternoon or Saturday afternoon. It’s Tuesday morning. It was really nice. We were very happy to see the number of people and I think the players enjoyed coming.”
Cortez indicated that he enjoyed a largely healthy roster on Tuesday, with the vast majority of the Tiger-Cats participating in the Waterloo event.
“I think pretty much everybody practiced today,” said Cortez. “We did shorten it a little bit because we had a few positions where we didn’t have too many guys.
“But we rolled everybody through, and as far as the guys who didn’t play last week, hopefully they’ll be able to [this week].”
The Waterloo practice falls in the midst of a restful period for the Tiger-Cats, who will resume their regular weekly routine on Thursday in preparation for Monday’s Labour Day Classic.
Cortez relished that rest on Tuesday, pointing out that his team will have precious little downtime after this week.
“It’s good that the players have an opportunity to get a little rest in, because from here on out it’s straight on through,” said the coach. “It’s very reminiscent of the years that I was in Calgary, where we usually played on Thursday or Friday and didn’t play for nine or 10 days later. It’s a schedule that I’m used to.
“But it’s good for the players, and they looked fresh today. It wasn’t like when we practiced after the bye-week where we had to get the kinks out. It was much sharper.”
The Tuesday workout served as a homecoming of sorts for Tiger-Cat place kicker Luca Congi, who was born and raised in Waterloo.
Congi was naturally familiar with Warrior Field, but had the chance to experience its renovated playing surface for the first time on Tuesday.
“I’ve been on this field a few times, but that was when it was grass here,” said the veteran kicker. “This is nice, it’s my first time on this field since they turfed it.”
Congi explained that the necessity of practicing as a youngster led him to make the rounds of Kitchener-Waterloo’s local football fields. In fact, it’s something he still does in his spare time.
“As a kicker, I go to a lot of fields around here,” said the Ticat kicker. “You go wherever is open. I used to come here quite a bit, but now they put the fence up so I can’t get in as easily.”
“I can go to Laurier’s field and St. David’s field because there’s turf there now. I do my circles and see what’s open.”
Family was on hand for the local boy’s return to his roots on Tuesday – including his young niece and nephew – and Congi took a moment to praise the town that raised him.
“I haven’t played football here since high school, so to come back and be able to play in front of the people of the great town of Waterloo was great,” said the kicker.
“It’s a great university town and they love their football here. Even if it was just a light practice, it was a lot of fun. That’s one of the perks of being able to play for Hamilton, and it’s a nice perk.”
Congi’s return was made all the nicer by the encouraging attendance that lent the Tiger-Cats’ Tuesday workout a more raucous atmosphere than usual. The kicker indicated that such a change to their regular routine was welcomed by the players.
“I love it like this. To have the fans out to watch practice makes it all a lot more fun.”
