Fun-da-footballs

As a piano teacher in "real life", I've always stressed that if you know the fundamentals you can play pretty much anything.  You need to be able to read the notes, you need to count & you have to be able to observe the signs.  It takes time to learn the fundamentals and the most successful students are the people who take the time to learn them well and learn them in stages instead of rushing in to something beyond their knowledge.

The team gathers as practice concludes.

I believe the same can be said for football.  If players come into camp and spend the first days learning the new rules, learning how the CFL works & learning the playbook before actually gearing up in pads I think they will be more successful when game time comes.  This is something coach Corey Chamblin has seemed to install this training camp.  I had visited camp the first day and then I visited again last friday.  The difference I saw was huge.  On friday I saw confidence coming out and players knowing their places and just more motivation in general.

Another reason I liked this approach to camp is that it has seemed to cut down injuries.  I've heard rumblings from other teams and especially the Edmonton RB injury but there's been very little said about Rider injuries.  Players have taken days off to rest but besides the Steinhauer injury from last season I haven't seen anyone limping or damaged which means going into the beginning of the season everyone should be healthy.

Piano players don't often have piano playing related injuries.  

Piano mac daddy down!

Doesn't happen.

Last Thursday for the first time in the history of the Roughriders, they loaded up 3 buses of players and coaches and took a field trip two hours (1.25 if you drive like me) north to Prince Albert.  They held a walk through and autograph session at the Alfred Jenkins Field House.  Because I have family and grew up in PA, I know that the soccer centre has been under some scrutiny.  It cost a lot of money, tax payers were not pleased and the result was a smaller field than was in the plans but it sure seems to have shined once the Riders pulled up into the parking lot.

Handy Hank & Doubles

 My Dad turns 80 in July.  He only makes it to one game a year and it's usually a trip he takes with his brothers.  He was uncertain as to whether he'd go to the field house even though it's not even a 5 minute drive from his house.  Then he finally decided he better go because as he told me "you'd kick my butt if I didn't go."

*grin*

So he geared up and went to see the Riders.  He was thrilled and extremely glad that I persuaded him to go.  He tells me that Darian Durant is a really stand up guy and personable and really laughed when my dad told him "so you finally got that monkey off your back."

Dad's eh?

Saturday was Green and White Fan day in Saskatoon.  I've always looked forward to this day and was rather disappointed when the Roughriders didn't schedule autographs.  I don't understand the difference between this and any other training camp day if they don't offer autographs for the fans.  Apparently the sessions during the week after practices are popular.  So what was scheduled was a mock game or scrimmage.
 

Storm clouds moving off to the south-east.

It rained for 15 minutes before Hubby and myself left for Griffiths Stadium.  I grabbed my Sex and the City umbrella and we headed to the home of the Huskies.  Well, of course it rained.  I couldn't help but be reminded of 2013 when we stood in line in pouring rain for an hour to meet Dwight Anderson, Weston Dressler, Chris Getzlaf, Darian Durant, John Chick, Ricky Foley and Geroy Simon.  It felt like karma for it to rain again.

I'll be heading out to training camp again Wednesday morning but that will be it for me since I have a four day music festival to attend this weekend.  I will be in my game day green for the preseason game in Fort McMurray saturday evening. 

I'm taking Riders because that's what I do.

If you have any questions about what I've seen at Riders training camp find me on Twitter @smilingsandra