No time for coaches to play tourist
LIONS: As players make plans to see the sights in Ottawa, Buono’s staff is hard at work at the team’s hotel Mike Beamish
Though many acclaim his dedication and genius and everyone accepts he’s a man of integrity, no one has ever argued Dan Dorazio is a fun guy.
“Subway, church and film study,” said the offensive line coach of the B.C. Lions, summarizing his routine during the CFL team’s seven-night stay in the nation’s capital. “The only time I get out is to grab a sandwich or to pray. Those are the only places I’ve been. We’re trying to do a seven-day work week in six days for the third week in a row. We’re already trying to get ready for Montreal. That’s how it works. You’re always trying to work ahead.”
The Lions don’t play the Alouettes until Sept. 9 at B.C. Place Stadium. In the meantime, they’re prepping to play the Toronto Argonauts Wednesday on the second leg of their two-game, nine-night Eastern road swing. The Lions won’t leave Ottawa until Tuesday morning, when they take a shorthop flight to Toronto. They’ll forgo the usual pre-game walk-through practice because BMO Field is unavailable.
“Every one of us in the CFL would rather prep at home (between games) and not have to go somewhere else to practise,” Dorazio said. “The logistics of this trip don’t allow that. This is the smart thing to do (stay in Ottawa). It’s the third time we’ve had six days between games, two of them on the road. It’s a tough business. But it makes perfect sense to do what we’re doing.”
CFL players are limited to 41/2 hours of organized activity on a working day, which limits what they’re able to do here, says head coach Wally Buono. He frets about the time lost to travel by ferrying players back and forth from the hotel to the practice field at the University of Ottawa.
To a degree, this is a business/ sightseeing trip for the players, who have enough free hours to explore like tourists, which is something of a novelty for them.
“We’re in a city, luckily, that has a lot of history behind it,” said punter/ kicker Richie Leone. “I’m going to definitely see all that I can see when I’m here.”
Leone has a tour of Parliament Hill planned Monday. He’s already taken in the Northern Lights sound and light show set against the backdrop of the Parliament buildings.
As for Dorazio, he continues to work countless hours illuminated by artificial light, knowing there are other talented and dedicated men working equally as hard. That intensity separates coaches from players and even those dear to them.
The only Lions coach catching a break this week is receivers coach Marcel Bellefeuille, who has a home in Ottawa. Bellefeuille had a pre-game meal with his wife Julie before the Lions’ 29-23 win Aug. 25 over the Ottawa Redblacks. A family dinner was planned Sunday with the couple’s four kids. Otherwise, he is registered at the same hotel as the rest of the coaches and players and doing the normal workaholic thing.
“I’ve probably stayed half the nights at home and half the nights at the hotel,” Bellefeuille said. “It’s been a bit of a bonus to spend some time with the family. I wouldn’t normally get a chance to do this except when I fly home for a few days on a bye week.”
Bellefeuille, who coached at the school and won a Vanier Cup title in 2000, is the only current Lions connection with the University of Ottawa. Practice arrangements at the university were made through Jamie Barresi, the head coach of the GeeGees and a former assistant with the Lions (2006-07).
To accommodate the CFL team, the Gee-Gees re-scheduled their practice times and were happy to do so.
“Working with Wally (Buono) was a stroke of fortune in so many ways,” said Barresi, a former player with the Gee-Gees who spent 20 years coaching in the NCAA ranks before returning to Canada. “I learned about (CFL) strategy, how to deal with practices, players, organization. To me, he was like the Canadian Joe Paterno. There’s not just one nugget I’ve taken from Wally. There are many nuggets.”
Barresi weathered months as an unpaid volunteer coach (running backs) with the Lions in 2006, living in a fleabag motel in Surrey for a chance to stay in the coaching profession. Even to those who think of themselves as football junkies, it was a dedication to the calling beyond the norm. (Barresi was promoted to a paid position as receivers coach the following season).
“Football is very important to him,” Dorazio said. “Crossing the T’s, dotting the I’s, taking care of every last detail. He’s a pro. That’s the Jamie Barresi I know.”
Within the framework of the same hopelessly imbalanced profession, Dorazio could be describing himself.