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April 6, 2009
Gladiators already on the offensive
by Chris Gagnon, for the Sudbury Star
Perfect spirals were complimented by graceful speed and effortless over-the-shoulder catches Saturday as the Sudbury Gladiators football team's offensive force worked out at the Exhibition Centre's indoor soccer field.
The indoor soccer field acted like an amplifier for Gladiators head coach Brent Richer as he bounced around on the balls of his feet yelling encouragement to his team, acting like being on the football field was his idea of winning the lottery.
"Today's a good day," he said when one of his receivers asked him about his chipper attitude. "Any day we get to play football is a good day."
Quarterbacks, running backs and receivers reported for a two-hour unofficial get-together to loosen up and get a feel for the game after the offseason layoff.
"We just wanted to take our quarterbacks and our receivers and work with them before we get the big group together," GM Chris Bartolucci said. "We're just going through basic routines."
Bartolucci said these exercises aren't necessarily tryouts and players will be competing harder for starting positions when official practices start.
For the first get-together of the season, some of the receivers appeared to be in mid-season form, fully stretching out to make one-handed catches at the absolute ends of their fingertips and risking rug burn as some dove for catches, meeting the artificial turf knees and elbows first.
"I feel bad for a lot of defences after what I'm already seeing here," Richer said "I haven't seen a lot of balls dropped. I'm impressed, absolutely."
Richer said there are "a lot of new faces," and the offensive players need to get to know each other, get their timing set and learn the Gladiators' playbook, so getting them out early allows for them to get a head start and be prepared when the season starts.
He's also looking forward to some of the new blood joining the team this season.
"We have some exciting newcomers this season," Richer said.
Jacob May, 18, is one of those newcomers. He played for Confederation high school last season and was named an all-star at the wide receiver position. Richer believes the six-foot- five receiver will be able to use his tall frame to his advantage against his defenders.
"He's a big monster. He's got big hands and he can outleap a lot of people," Richer said. "So we're expecting some things from him."
Nerves were apparent early on as May stepped onto a field full of strangers. He struggled briefly, allowing the pigskin to slip through his fingers a few times when the passing drills began.
"I didn't know anybody," May said. "I dropped a few (passes) at first."
May is looking forward to the jump from high school to the Ontario Football Conference (OFC).
"I'm looking forward to the new season," he said. "High school (football) gets boring after a while."
The players themselves have noticed the talent of the receiving core while watching each other run routes and catch balls.
"I see a lot of guys with good hands, so that's a good sign right now if we're going to be passing the ball," slotback Paul Cecil, 17, of Sudbury said. "We can all run pretty quick, so it's good signs."
Cecil played for the College Notre-Dame Alouettes this past season. His team lost to the Lo- Ellen Park Knights in the semifinals of the city championships and Cecil is eager to get back on the gridiron.
"It's going to be fun, I miss it," he said.
"I started missing it in December, so I'm pretty anxious to get back out there."
Gladiators' official preseason camp runs April 27-30, from 4-6 p. m. at the Exhibition Centre in the indoor soccer field on Falconbridge Road.
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