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February 13, 2009
RICHER RETURNS TO GLADIATORS
By Bruce Heidman, The Sudbury Star
It didn't take Brent Richer long to fill his summer schedule.
Deciding to hang up his cleats after a long career in the Northern Football Conference, Richer has taken on a bigger role as the new head coach of the Sudbury Gladiators junior football squad.
And he's not alone. Richer has surrounded himself with a ton of experience, selecting 12 well-known local coaches to help him on the sidelines and at practice, bringing together some of the best football minds in Greater Sudbury.
"It's pretty exciting," Richer said. "I wish we could get on the field right now."
Four of Richer's assistant coaches -- Brandon Dougan (Confederation), Geoff Richer (Lockerby), Reg Bonin (Lively) and Mike Fabili (St. Charles) -- are head coaches at their own high schools, while general manager Chris Bartolucci is well known in football circles for the decades he spent making St. Charles College a perennial champ until his retirement a few years ago.
With all that knowledge and experience at his fingertips, and a designated coach for each position on the team, Richer believes his team will be "the smartest in the league."
"I see us being a very, very smart football team, very disciplined and very systematic," he said. "We will be the smartest team in the league. We will be able to adjust at the sound of a voice. We have coaches in place who know what they are looking for and know how to talk to kids and get them on the same page. We will be very smart.
"I did the math and there's more than 75 years of coaching experience there, and having an intimate knowledge of the players is key, too," he added. "The great thing is all the coaches know each other. Eight of us played Spartans and we all played together at one point, so we have something in common.
Bartolucci is equally thrilled with the coaching staff.
"We got a great coaching staff together," he said. "I think we have the best of the best in the city, a good, well-rounded coaching staff with lots of experience. Everyone will have great ideas and we'll mesh it all and put it together. It's a fun position to be in."
Though so many are used to running their own programs, Bartolucci isn't concerned with coaching clashes.
"All of us are good friends and we all frequent a local watering hole together," he said with a laugh. "Everyone has good ideas and it will be a real positive experience for the kids. This is what I wished for when I did the Spartans -- is to have a coach at every position. It's the way it is supposed to be.
With the injection of new blood on the sidelines, Richer expects a banner year as far as player numbers go.
"We have 36 kids back from last year and that's a very good base," he said. "Between the coaches we have now and the talk of players coming, we are over 60 already for training camp. It's the old expression that competition breeds excellence, and I think it will be a tough camp for everybody. If you have to earn your position and you've got someone on your heels, we'll see what you're made of when pushed. You will either buckle or proceed."
With so much support on the sidelines, Richer can focus on the big picture.
"At the end of the day, my job is to coach the coaches and to trust the coaches and what they put in play," he said. "Final say goes to me, but my two coordinators, I have no doubts in anything they put into play."
Richer is also bringing in two local players who are playing university football to assist on the sidelines. Kevin Garbuio, who plays for the Acadia Axemen, and Aaron Rheal, a running back at Ottawa University, will be go-betweens for the coaches and players.
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