CFL
CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — For a three-day event best known for feats of the physical variety, mental acuity may be what most separates participants at this weekend’s 2015 CFL National Combine.
Any athlete can run fast, lift weights, talk strategy with coaches and do one-on-one football drills – that’s the nature of any football player, amateur or professional.
The challenge transforms, however, when everyone’s watching. The spotlight brightens. Careers are on the line.
If you’re a top prospect, your performance will either solidify your spot or drop you out of the first round. If you’re a middling prospect, the combine means so much more: you can either stay put; rise among the top; or fall out of favour.
Either way, there’s no do-over. The CFL Draft is on May 12, and while university and college athletes have a far greater body of work for which they could be judged, the National Combine leaves a lasting impression.
Montreal Alouettes defensive back Andrew Lue, one of last year’s star performers, says the athletes that relish the spotlight gain the upper hand – something that helped him shine at the combine and eventually become a 10th overall draft pick.
“You could look at it two ways: you either treat it as a game and the spotlight’s on and that’s your time to shine; or you can blank out everyone else and tell yourself that you’ve done this a million times and now’s no different,” says Lue.
Both require a mental aspect that is difficult to train for, but with the right preparation either can be achieved.
Lue, a four-year standout defender at Queen’s, says training on such a tight timeline after the CIS football season ends is challenging. The Canadian University football season goes as late as the end of November, and after that, prospects quickly shift from football training to combine drill-specific training.
“You’re not really getting into football shape at that time, you’re in testing shape,” Lue explains. “You’re preparing for the specific tests that are going to happen, and then after the combine, getting into proper football shape preparing for camp.”
“They’re two different types of training.”
Toronto Argonauts linebacker and special teamer Thomas Miles, a fourth round draft pick after participating in both regional and national combines, agrees that switching from regular football training to test-specific training is a challenge.
“It’s hard,” says Miles. “They test five or six different things and you have to master all of them, and there are only seven days in a week and you can only train so many things per day.”
“That part is definitely difficult and they’re not necessarily things that you’d normally be doing and they’re not things that directly transfer to football ability.”
At the same time, though, CFL personnel are watching prospects for three days looking to draw football conclusions, wondering which players belong on a CFL football field and which don’t.
“They are different types of training, but at the end of the day, football is football,” adds Lue. “You’re still training to be an athlete . . . [and] there are football drills where you put on the pads.”
“You’re training for specific tests, but at the end of the day you need to show them that you’re a good football player,” he continues. “You’re not going to completely shun all of the previous football training you’ve done.”
“It’s just a little more specific and geared towards what coaches want to see in terms of the different numbers for testing.”
Lue and Miles took different paths to getting drafted last season, but agree on the kind of mindset required going into the combine. In the end, it all comes back to relishing the opportunity – one that comes and goes before you know it.
“Stay in the moment,” says Miles, who recorded three defensive tackles and six special teams tackles in his rookie season with Toronto. “There’s so much going on that you can really lose focus pretty easily.”
“Part of it is staying in the moment, but at the same time you have to enjoy it because it is an incredibly cool experience, and it’s something you only get to do once so you’ve got to make the most of it.”
Lue, 23, also contributed mostly on special teams in 2014, recording 23 special teams tackles and one defensive tackle in his first year as an Alouette. He likens the entire process to an interview, where CFL teams are watching your every move.
“You’re trying to separate yourself from the others and it’s a weekend-long interview, so pretty much everything you do is under the scope,” says Lue.
While Miles says the 40-yard dash is the test that CFL teams focus on most, Lue says he treated everything equally.
“I treated it all the same, just trying to see myself in the interviews and testing like those are things we’ve been doing our whole lives – running and jumping and lifting weights.”
“I never built anything up more than the other. I treated it like a week-long interview and gave everything the appropriate attention.”
Lue’s message to prospects taking part in this weekend’s event is similar to Miles’.
“Just understand that all of the hard work and preparation is behind you at this point, and all of the hours of football you’ve done, you’ve done them to get here,” says Lue. “Treat it as an opportunity to do something great and I’m sure you’ll rise to the occasion.”
“Best of luck to all of the participants,” he adds. “As hard as it might be, try to enjoy it because the weekend goes by really fast.”
