OFF-SEASON part I

That sums up my rookie season in the CFL, and I wouldn’t change it for the world! My experiences as a rookie have truly made me a better person as well as an athlete. Special thanks to JNB, L DUB, KP, Kelly Cam, Smooth Fred, JY and last but not least, Charlie. Your guidance through my rookie season made the transition to professional football easier. Thank you for showing me the ropes.

I apologize for any grammar mistakes, missed, or misspelled words. After such positive feedback from fans and friends, I was so excited to get the story out, that some weeks I neglected to check them for errors. Special thanks to my editor for cleaning up the blogs and making them easier to read. Now that the bulk of the story is out, I will ensure that I take my time in posting new entries. In the future, look forward to at least one blog a week on various topics.

Be prepared for the debut of the next series of entries entitled, 2nd Time Around. Giving you the inside perspective of the Eskimo’s 2009 season as we contend for the grey cup.

3 WEEKS OF SOLITUDE

Following the final game of the season, I was left with a feeling I had never felt before. The only reason I was in Edmonton was for football, now that it was done, I had nothing! I don’t like to lose. Even if I wasn’t playing, it still hurt. Sitting there trying to find answers of what I could have done better, I had none. You can’t really have much say from the sideline. Our last meeting was 2 days following the game. Coach explained to us how proud he was even though we came up short. It was virtually a new team with young faces everywhere. He also explained the cruel reality of this sport in that some of us may not be back next year. After an offensive and defensive meeting, we all parted ways. That same group of guys will never again be intact.

Returning home I wondered what I was going to do with my free time. Blank. The city was still new to me, I felt lost. The feeling of being all alone depressed me. I woke up with nothing on the schedule, no purpose. In university, I would have school to fall back on, which provided a decent schedule for me. In a new city, I was faced with the fact that I had nothing to keep me busy. At first, I thought I would get an early start on training for the next year. With zero motivation and still no concrete idea of what position I was going to play, it was hard to get the work done. Instead, I would lie on the floor of my room looking at the ceiling. I would put one song on repeat at a time and listen to it for hours.

With no closure on the season I was down in the ditch. I let myself go. The last time I had cut my hair was week 15. I stopped shaving as well. You can imagine how disheveled I looked. The only time I would leave the house was to go to the grocery store. My eating habits were horrible! My diet would consist of processed food and a side order of grease from the local Wendy’s. Sitting there in sorrow, I searched for answers. How could a year go by without me getting in there? It was out of my hands! Football was my life. It was the one thing that made me smile. With nothing to smile for, I had accomplished only 1 of the 6 goals I set out for myself. That goal being making the team.

My only visit was from young Cal, an emerging running back. He stopped by to drop off his golf clubs. There was no room for them in his car. Reminiscing about the season, I explained to him how I was feeling. He understood the growing pains as he was once there a year before. He advised me to keep pushing on and to come back with more strength. The last piece of advice he gave me before he left was “You can do anything with strong hip flexors.”

Back to my solitude, I had put some thought to what young Cal had said. Lacking motivation, I didn’t act upon it. I stopped watching all sports, and TV for that matter. Disconnecting myself from the world, family, and friends. I retreated into my own world. I would let the phone ring. I didn’t want to hear from anyone. Re-viewing films of past games, I was frustrated that I didn’t get to play. As days passed, I went from being choked up and aggressive to really calmed down. I just let it go. I had accepted that the last season was gone. Looking forward, instead of in the past, reality hit. I was out of shape. I had put on weight and not the good kind. It was now time to face the off-season.

After 17 days, I was tired of the way I was living. I needed a drastic shock after being cooped up in the house. I had to get some fresh air. I ran out into the midst of Edmonton’s cold winter. To combat the cool temperatures my attire consisted of under armour cold gear, two t-shits, a warm up sweater, football gloves, and a tuque. It was
-25°C but it was an embracing cold chill that sent shivers up my spine. With only 20 minutes of running behind me, it was so cold that my I-pod had stopped working. I was too far in to turn back now. Upon returning home my hands and feet were frozen. It was the most pain I felt all football season. Probably nearing hypothermia, I shivered myself back to room temperature. It was a lengthy process to warm back up. Though terribly sore for the next 3 days, I felt better. I was now on the road to recovery.

GRIND SEASON part I

After 3 weeks of dwelling in the past, it was time to let go and face reality. For the most part, players during the off-season return home, wherever that may be. Although I could have easily returned home to my parent’s house in Montreal, I decided not to. I was in a transitional period of my life and felt I could not go backwards. There comes a time where everyone has to leave their nest and explore the world in its fullest. I felt I could train more efficiently here in Edmonton. Montreal is such a beautiful city that I felt I would revert back to my old lifestyle and get caught up wasting time and money on pointless things. It was all about training this year. NO DISTRACTIONS!

The first day out of solitude I had 2 objectives; to meet with coaching staff, and meet with the strength coach. I needed some closure on the season. During my solitude, DM had stepped down from head coach and was in search of a replacement. No one was available to talk to. I was urged to come back in the new year when the staff was set. However, I did get to talk to the strength coach at the time. I told him of my intentions for the upcoming season. Currently weighing in at 196lbs, my initial goal was to lose 7lbs. I learned over the season that I did not have to be as big, but rather capable of moving. He told me it was simply a matter of diet which meant I had to cut my sloppy eating out. The components of my poor diet were namely white bread, fried eggs, fast food, and processed food. Without these unhealthy staples I had to plan a new and improved nutrition program. He was a great motivational speaker, and really got me going again. Now that I had a new program I was able to find more structure in my life.

As off-season training kicked off I ran into my good buddy Charlie! He had always helped me through the season and asked me what I was doing with my free time? I gave him a look and shrugged as if to say, not much. He asked me if I wanted to work to keep myself busy. Tired of being in the house, I took him up on his offer. It would be a nice change to get out a bit more. The job he lined up for me was at Totem Outfitters in the sports exchange. In the span of 4days, I went from being home all the time to never home. With work, training, and travel time I would be getting home around 10:30 at night and still have to cook dinner and lunch for the next day. This wasn’t working in my books, I had to cut time somewhere. Originally, I walked to work in the winter cold. For some reason I was enjoying it. But, it cost me a lot of time. We had a bike in the apartment and, although it was winter, I used it. At first I was embarrassed of my means of transportation. Here I am on the bike cycling around, while other guys on the team had caddilac’s, h2o’s, and BMW’s. When you’re grinding to get it, there is no shame in the game. You gotta do, what you gotta do, to get it done! I had already hit low points everywhere else in my life, so I might as well start everything at the bottom and work up. On the icy roads, with no winter tires and no helmet, I received many puzzled looks with “are you CRAZY?” written on their faces. As time progressed I stopped caring. I was on a mission and nothing was going to stop me.

During the month of December, I transformed my eating habits. I cut out everything bad in my diet, especially foods high in fat. I was still struggling with cooking for myself but at least I was making an effort. At times it felt like I was starving because I was used to filling up with large portions. For a month I didn’t look at the scale. When I returned home for the holidays, I wanted to see just how much progress I had made.

Life as a Rookie East Final Part 23 of 23

Edm @ Mtl The win guaranteed us another week of practice and yet another game. Now, a step closer to our ultimate goal, we were only one game away. With the status of our starting fullback questionable, there was a small chance I might dress. As in previous weeks, I was placed at a couple of different positions on special teams. By this time, I had already given up all hope to see the field this year. Even though I worked hard in hopes of getting in, I had already assumed that it just wasn’t going to happen. I did not want to get my hopes up again and have them crushed. Week 6 had really taken a toll on me mentally. Though I was up beat at practice, at home I was utterly depressed. Not to shadow what happened this week, I made great progress. Previously in 1 on 1’s I had the mindset, Don’t get beat. What happens when you think like that? You get beat! Instead I told myself that I would win every rep. I came close, winning 4 out of 5. To top it off, the last one I was able to intercept and I ran it back to the end zone as if I was in the game. On both sides of the ball players were impressed by my performance. I used to get beat like a drum, now I was holding my own. Following practice, the team packed for the trip. As usual there was no bag in front of my locker. Normally I would dash as soon as possible, but this was really our last practice at commonwealth, win or lose. So I stayed and enjoyed a couple of laughs with the team. Before I left I hand one request “Bring me home to Montreal next week.”



Game Day. At home for this one I didn’t want any distractions or the chance of missing one second of play. I ordered myself a pizza and had a 6 pack. I was officially in fan mode. We started off with a great deal of steam. AC and the Montreal offense took some time to get back in the rhythm. As the game was rolling, I received calls from friends who were at the game asking me where I was. Hearing the action live in the background, I wanted to be there BAD! I replied, “Not this year man”. Slowly, the Montreal offense put it together. The turning point in the game was a 2 punt return touchdown by Larry Taylor. This killed any kind of momentum we once had. Our returner TJ added one himself, but it was too little too late. Esks lose 36-26.

Life as a Rookie East-Semi Final Part 22 of 23

Edm @ Wpg My first playoff week was all business. Nothing entertaining or exciting happened this week. Everyone played an important role on the team. In practice I was quiet because these were unchartered territories for me. Practice had a different speed; everything was run efficiently with sharpness and speed. It was a slight step up from regular season practice because a lot was on the line. My only concern was not knowing what I was going to do after the season. I hoped this wasn’t my last week…

Game Day. The team was on the road. I prayed that this wasn’t going to be my last week. On a cold day in Winnipeg, the team was able to fight off mother nature and performed well. It was a close game played down to the wire. Esks win 29-21

Notes: We lost our starting non-import fullback Matt Bertand

Life as a Rookie (Week 18) Part 21 of 23

Mtl @ Edm It was the last week of the season, I had survived a full year! It wasn’t exactly what I had planned, but the worst was over, and I was still here none the less. After our last horrendous game, we needed to get the bad taste out our mouths. T.I threw another B.B.Q to kick of the post-season. It had a different spin on it from the last one. Instead of playing Madden in the living room, guys were free-styling. Enjoying the comical experience, I laughed and cheered everyone on. Some guys were very talented while others were, well, let’s just say amusing. When I was asked to take my turn, I replied “Hell NOOO!” I was shy and wasn’t one to put myself in front of the camera, so I resisted. Back home in Montreal, I was always in the studio listening to my friend “H-Man” freestyle. I had no idea of the amount of artistic capacity that was required. However, having spent countless hours there it seemed like something I could pull off. Reciting a little freestyle version of my own in my head, I was ready. Jumping up into the camera, feeling confident with my hat tilted to the side, I told them to put the beat on. For that split second in time I really thought I could do it…

Certain dudes asking where Pro go?
Where he at? Where he go? I don’t know!
…………..

As I looked back into the camera I forgot the rest of my rhyme. All the guys erupted in laughter, “AHHAHAHAHAH!!!!” Embarrassed, I returned to the couch with my head down. It was bad, REAL BAD! I went home laughing, but also dreading the next day, knowing I’d be reminded of my “stellar” performance.
Sure enough, as I walked into the locker room… “Where he at! Where he go! I don’t know!” It was the joke of the week. Finally the “Eh YOOO MAN” had died down and been replaced with new material to harass the rookie with. During warm-up on the practice field KP stopped by and said, “I heard about your freestyle…a few words of advice…know your limits! There are certain things you know you can do well and certain things you know you can’t. Know your limits!” He laughed again and jogged off. What a way to finish off the rookie season!

Game Day. The playoff picture was set and nothing was on the line. The goal was simply to get back on track with some good football. We needed to pick up a win in order to erase the awful loss from the previous week. Despite the rather meaningless game, we accomplished what we had set out to do. Esks win 37-14.

Life as a Rookie (Week 17) Part 20 of 23

Edm @ Sask In past weeks, I have accumulated only about 40 reps off defense. The bulk of my enjoyment was playing on the scout team defense. Growing more confident every week, I was mastering Safety! My opponent was Ricky Ray. For 17 weeks Rick had always managed to look me off, he was good at it. I had enough of it! In response, I changed my method of reading the play. Originally, I would read O-line 1st to determine run or pass, followed by QB 2nd , and receivers 3rd. Rick arranged to have me covering a spot where the ball was never going to go. At times he had me so out of position that I could not recover. The look he was giving, was removing me from the vicinity of play, which affected my role as safety to cover. After acknowledging this, I then changed my reads to 1st O-line, 2nd receivers, and 3rd QB. Why? The QB read was last because by that time he was finished deceiving me by looking me off, and either had to tell me the truth or get sacked. My system proved to be working and I was much closer to the ball than before. Great week of practice!

Game Day. I was asked to make a public appearance on behalf of the team at Commonwealth. The gentleman said he was going to e-mail me the location. On the way to the stadium, I realized I forget to check the e-mail. However, I wasn’t worried because it could only be in two places. I recalled the man saying it was where we had the meeting. I proceeded into the Alumni room, greeted by 5 gentlemen. I explained how I was asked to come down and watch the game. It was not a problem to them, so I assumed I was in the right spot. Almost immediately, I was offered a beverage and some chicken wings. I wondered where the other players were. I assumed because I was 30min. early they could easily be coming later for kick-off. As game time crept close, I noticed two things. First, I was in the wrong place, and second, I was among former Eskimo greats. These alumni were members from the 5 in a row dynasty. Food and drinks were flowing and the conversation was great! Though I was not speaking too much, I was absorbing valuable information about the game. There was no way I was going to leave this room and pass up an opportunity to listen and learn from players who have been there. Although the current Eskimo’s were slaughtered on this day, I felt privileged to be surrounded by such great athletes. I came to realize how lucky I was to sit out and watch my rookie year. The wisdom I learned from listening to these fine gentlemen talk about the game was one of a kind. The knowledge was way beyond my years and will without a doubt contribute to my future success in the CFL. Esks lose 56-4.

Life as a Rookie (Week 16) Part 19 of 23

BC @ Edm Although I was still in my first year, I was no longer a rookie! I didn’t feel like one anymore and did not make the same mistakes that I had in previous weeks. Also, I felt I learned how to practice like a pro and overall didn’t have that wide eyed rookie look. I felt better during practice with the number change as well as the fact that I had started making plays. I started to feel like I belonged, a feeling which didn’t exist for me all year. In 1 on 1’s I saw drastic improvement. Now being able to get my hands on receivers, I was winning a few more than earlier in the year. In addition to all this, coach put me back onto the special team. I also made tremendous progress in terms of my practice style. Moving into the 3rd part of the season, that worry of being sent home was lost. It was around this point where I truly started believing in my abilities to play at this level. For weeks and weeks I had been playing passive, tentative and even scared at times. This prevented me from being able to react and adjust to the faster pace of game. At Concordia, the motto was high risk, high reward! In order to play a game with such high stakes, your calculation had to be exact. Previously, the game had been moving so fast it was really hard to make decisions. I had to increase the speed at which I processed information before and during a play. Finally it didn’t feel like football was on fast forward, the game started to slow down. In a game where high risk is necessary the margin for error is so small that one bad calculation and you could be the “HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT”. I wasn’t in a game situation, however, so my bets were all in on every single play. Now that I had put in my time, there were no large consequences for my actions. Just reacting and letting it all happen made me feel much more at ease and successful than earlier in the season.

Game Day. With the season series battle on the line, this game was important. The game was a close match, back and forth until the 4th quarter. We really shot ourselves in the foot with assignment errors. This opened the door for B.C to take a commanding lead in the game. Not only did we lose the game to B.C., we also lost the season series. A blocked field goal positioned us 3 points shy of coming out on top of the game series. Esks lose (Score)

Life as a Rookie (Week 15) Part 18 of 23

Week 15 Edm @ BC The whole weekend I pondered if they were actually going to put me in, I didn’t believe it. It was too good to be true, instead of having high hopes like I did early in the year, I kept them low. If I didn’t expect it and it never happened then I wouldn’t be crushed. Monday came, I walked into the locker room and stopped by the equipment manager, Mr. Dwayne. He said, “Okpro step into my office”. I thought for a second hmmm this could be good…. “They are bringing a guy back from last year he wore 19 do you mind giving it up?” Now, before he could really finish the sentence I said “YESSSS” although 19 is a nice number I felt it did not suit me. “What are my options?” 6,10,13,14,27 I chose 10! Why? It was the closest to my college number! NO ONE gets to wear 1 here in e-town. Though I knew I was not getting in, I was excited about the number change. That day checking the special teams board 19 was on it. Several players were excited for me asking me if I was up? “Naw man it’s not me…” “Damn that sucks he took your number and your dress spot, ouch!” Well if you look at it in that way yea, but I had already had a feeling I wasn’t getting in. So, I looked at it in a different way, I felt it marked the end of my rookie season. I didn’t feel like a rookie anymore so the change was good. Out on the field “damn Sammy you look like you lost weight” “ Naw MAN I got my SWAG back.” I can’t tell you how much a number does for your confidence. I felt like a new person and didn’t ever really care that I wasn’t getting in. I felt GREAT!



Game Day On the road again we went into B.C place. The game got dirty in the second quarter and our starting safety was ejected. We came together and over came the adversity that faced us. Led by the defense in the second half, we shut them down. Not giving that explosive B.C offense any momentum to come back in the game. Esks win 27-20

Life as a Rookie (Week 14) Part 17 of 23

Week 14 Wpg @ Edm Finally, after several bad weeks I was starting to feel better about myself. No major incidents from last week marked the first in a six week stretch. I was continuing to improve by not worrying so much about hurting anyone, but rather finding ways to win without contact. The advice given to me from several players had started to sink in and everything was making sense. I thought back to times in Montreal when I used to practice martial arts with my neighbour, nickname Ninja. It was his passion but would just do it every now and then for the fun. Ninja convinced me to train with him twice a week, explaining that it would be very useful towards football. Playing defense there is a high probability every play I will have to shed a block in order to get to the ball. Now, the quicker I beat the block the faster I would get there. In addition, the game was also slowing down every week and I noticed that I was able to concentrate on more things than just my assignment. I started using the knowledge I learned from my good friend to beat blocks rather than brute force. Another successful week, no pile up, no injuries, no one mad at me, it was a great feeling!

Game Day we started off slow, it looked like Winnipeg was going to run away with this one. Down 14-1 we got a spark from our special teams converting on a fake punt & our all-star returner T.J ran one back. In the second half the defense took over creating turnovers and not letting Kevin Glenn and that offense get back on track. Esks win 36-22

Notes: we lost J.R Larose to a broken leg




Immediately following the game I noticed that everyone was giving me that look. Being one of the few healthy Canadians it appeared it was my chance to play. “You’re up Okpro”! Excited, but I was still skeptical about it. I wasn’t confident.

Life as a Rookie (Week 13) Part 16 of 23

Life as a Rookie(week13) Part 16 of 23

Week 13 Edm @ Wpg On very few occasions have I been called out by my coaches throughout my career. The feeling was very new to me. I liked it! Not having a position coach for my last two years at Concordia, I felt my technical skills had really declined. As a defensive back it is the little things that make you a great player. I really noticed when I entered training camp that my technique had really declined in two years. New focus! Be technically sound! During individual drills, I slowed down and performed them properly, rather than racing through them. When it came to shedding blocks I used my hands more actively instead of for power. Everything was starting to click. I could still work hard in practice but with a different style than before. I noticed that my teammates were not as upset with me as they were in previous weeks. I felt better about myself, I was onto something.

Game day the team was on the road again. I watched the game at a friends house not too far away. You really can’t look at records in the CFL. On any given day any team can beat you. The turning point, I believe, was when we gave up a big punt return for a touchdown. We battled back, but in the end Winnipeg had the last laugh that day. Esks lose 2 straight for the first time 30-23

Life as a Rookie (Week 12) Part 15 of 23

Week 12 Edm @ Mtl Growing up in Montreal has been nothing but a pleasure! I had the privilege of playing all my years of football there. It was truly an honour! My childhood dream was to be an Alouettes. Throughout University, I was fortunate enough to train with several exceptional football athletes. Although I was not at the professional level, they knew my ambition, made me feel welcome, and encouraged me to work hard. They constantly gave me tips on how to become a better player. You can’t even put a price on the off-field knowledge I accumulated just being around them. The knowledge from Canadian players already in the league was of great value and it was truly an honour training with them. I’d like to thank Marc-Elie and PERFMAX “Shut up n Run” for letting me tag along in the elite training group.

Leading up to the draft was another stressful point in time. It was a time of great uncertainty, with less than 10% of CIS players actually making a team, everything was really up in the air. Also, with the Grey Cup in Montreal, the dream was to be drafted by Montreal and win my first championship for my home town. As the draft got closer I started feeling weird… something was telling me that I wasn’t going to be in Montreal for much longer. Though it would have been a nice childhood dream, god had something different in place for me.

Having been moved to the practice roster in week 6, I was not looking forward to this week at all. Several people had already bought tickets for the game, and I knew I was going to be a no show. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to be a part of this game. My father was prepared to make the trip home from Dubai for my first game in Montreal. It really hurt telling him to cancel the plans, and that I would have to wait another year. Meanwhile, in practice I was still working on finding the proper tempo, I stayed at 22%. Keeping in mind that L.W told me I had to be a little more sweeter. I really started to focus on technique. I noticed that I could do so without emitting too much effort. Starting to feel at home in the Safety position, I trusted what I saw now. Everything slowed down a touch more, no longer was I behind the play but right with it. One area of concern was that the special teams coach had taken notice of my light tempo and called me out during meetings. It was also probably one of the few times I’ve felt bad after watching myself in film. I wasn’t happy! But at least I knew both extremes now, too hard and too light. Though it didn’t feel good, it taught me a fundamental aspect of the game and progress was made.

Game day arrived and not wanting any distractions, I watched this one alone. During the game I received several calls asking me where I was. All I could say is “They left me at home.” I don’t know who made the trip to Montreal but it sure wasn’t the Eskimos! Esks lose 40-4

Pondering the loss, I was quite upset with the way the team performed. If you play football for long enough you’re bound to be in a couple of these games, on either side. Although I had wanted to be at that game so bad, I did not want to take part in the loss. In hind-sight I was kind of happy I did not make the trip to Montreal.