Tiger-Cats training camp has come to a conclusion, but the work has just begun, and the same could have been said for each one of their practices in the preseason.
If you attended one of the Ticats practices over the course of the last three weeks, you’d have seen the players strung through individual and 1-on-1 drills, team walkthroughs, specials teams and most recently, a heated offence vs. defence green-zone session to conclude practice.
And while it would be reasonable to assume that players are just happy to hear Coach Austin’s final whistle and call of “find your coaches” when the two hours are up, that couldn’t be further from the reality.
Instead, after two hours of putting in work on the field, the majority of the Ticats players will spend an extra 30 or 40 minutes refining their game before heading to the locker room. Rather than running off to get changed and hit the ice baths, each guy takes the additional time to perfect his craft.
“It’s hard to get them off their feet,” said Coach Austin, “it’s certainly not anything that’s mandatory, they’re doing it all on their own.”
Guys work individually or in small groups. The veteran receivers teach the younger guys new techniques for beating coverages, the pass rushers instruct each other on novel moves to get to the quarterback, and quarterbacks perfect their timing with receivers or practice their accuracy with some upright target practice.
“It’s how it should be, in my opinion,” said quarterback Zach Collaros, “guys just want to get better at what they do.”
The receivers group is one of the hardest to get off the field at the end of practice, putting the trainers to work on the JUGS machine, shooting out hundreds of balls to practice catching.
Receiver Matt Coates, whose extra reps paid off with a strong first preseason game, says the overtime work is not always full tempo, but that it gives players a valuable opportunity to get in mental reps and fine-tune their game.
“If you want to get better, there’s just not enough time in practice because everybody has to get reps,” explained Coates. “It’s just a love for the game, really.”
Some of the extra work is undoubtedly due to some players competing for a spot on the team, but even guys with defined starting roles like Collaros can be seen on the field putting in daily overtime.
“We’ve got a group of guys that care,” explained Coach Austin, “they want to win, they want to compete, they believe in their coaches and the process of getting better, and they’re putting in the extra work that they need to.”
The dedication is contagious, and it’s spread down through the entire roster, with more guys taking extra reps each consecutive day of camp. Defensive end Adrian Tracy says it’s no surprise that this was the case.
“When you see other people working, it makes you want to work yourself,” said Tracy, “it’s nice to see people coming in and honing their skills.”
Tracy has spent considerable time on the rosters of two other professional football teams— the NFL’s New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals— yet he believes that this team is the most well-equipped to win games because everybody is willing to go the extra mile.
“As a collective whole, as far as playing professional football goes, I feel like this team has what it takes to win,” started Tracy, “because of the things they do off the field, and the collective unit that’s been gelling on the field.”