Riders find silver lining in CFL protocol rules
Public health restrictions lifted in Saskatchewan July 11, but the CFL is keeping a layer of precaution throughout Riders’ training camp.
After completing a seven-day quarantine before hitting the field with their teammates, players are still required to keep themselves distanced. The team is only allowed to move the players from their dorms to the stadium and then back.
Head coach Craig Dickenson said it’s a concern for every one when it comes to being able to build.a team bond.
“It’s a challenge this year to build chemistry, stay within the COVID guidelines – which we’re working very hard to do – and still put a good team on the field,” said Dickenson.
He added he would like to be able to take the team for an afternoon of fellowship at the bowling alley, or to get them off their feet at the pool, but those type of team bonding activities are off the table with the current guidelines.
“We’re not complaining, that’s just the reality of it, but those are things that bring teams together,” said Dickenson.
On the other hand, the players are finding a silver lining in the arrangement.
Quarterback Mason Fine said having these restrictions in place makes you focus on the game a little more.
“… You can’t go out, you just go back to your dorm and what are you going to do? You’re going to be on your laptop and watch Netflix, yeah, but you’re probably going to look at your playbook a little bit more,” said Fine/
Reciever Ricardo Louis said you can also find him in the playbook.
“I’m here, I’m in the dorms and the only thing I can think about is football and just getting better and making this team,” he said.
Using their time wisely, the players said they are trying to become the best players they can be.
“I”m just waking up everyday, following the schedule, doing what my coaches ask, trying to be the best player I can be for this team and doing what needs to be done,” said Fine.
Dickenson said he hopes the players are meshing and gelling well on their own, despite the lack of group outings.
The players are also asked to not visit each other’s rooms at the dorms, but they’re still finding ways to keep in touch.
“We have still texts, we still have group messages and FaceTime. We can still do that… [we’re] finding ways to communicate and learn the playbook together,” explained Louis.
Dickenson said the players are giving up a lot to be here, and they are all in the same boat fighting the good fight together.
“Hopefully when we start playing games and guys start seeing the fruits of their labour on the field, it will all be worth it in the end,” said Dickenson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.