High hopes, but no cash for Lions training in Surrey
The circumstances in which the Leos find themselves are anything but normal
Under ordinary circumstances, the B.C. Lions would be settling into the familiar rhythms of the CFL season.
This week, for example, the Lions should be preparing for their third game of the year and their home opener against the Edmonton Eskimos. They would have completed training camp three weeks ago. They would have played their two pre-season games. The roster would be set and the process of trying to erase their nightmarish 5-13 record in 2019 would have begun.
Here’s something else that’s part of their routine: They’d be collecting their third paycheque of the new season. The problem, as you may be aware, is the circumstances in which the Leos find themselves are anything but normal. Yes, the team’s Surrey practice facility is now open to players who live in the Lower Mainland and, yes, it’s being utilized by 10 players.
But, it isn’t exactly business as usual, for the players, trainer Tristan Sandhu and strength and conditioning man Chris Boyko, as a trip out to Surrey will illustrate vividly.
The 10 players train in two groups: six in the first, four in the second. Before they enter the facility their temperature is taken. Only two of the players are allowed in the weight room at any given time and each is given a bottle of detergent with which they wipe down the equipment after using.
Some of the training is now done outside and, on this day, you could watch offensive lineman Peter Godber pushing a weighted sled around the practice field. Also, you could wait until Godber finished his workout and watch him be interviewed by a journalist who’s wearing a mask.
As mentioned, normal it ain’t. “We’ve had a schedule given to us pretty much every single day since we were in university,” says Godber. “It’s like you work out at this time every day. You practise at this time every day. It’s weird not having that set schedule.”
And this to prepare for a season that may or may not happen. Godber is asked if he and his teammate have considered the doomsday COVID-19 scenario for 2020.
“As an athlete, you have to have that mindset and expectation there will be a season in September,” he says. “If you don’t have that mindset, you’re going to be screwed. You work as hard as you can and you hope there will be a season. If there isn’t you continue to have that mindset of work, work, work for next season.”
And maybe by then their world will make sense.
The Lions’ facility has been open since the middle of the month and it’s one of the few places in the province where you can witness something approximating the athlete’s routine. The players who are regular attendees represent a disparate group, ranging from foundational offensive linemen Joel Figueroa and Sukh Chungh to starting receiver Lemar Durant to receiver Shaq Johnson.
Beyond the more established players sits another cohort of six who have a lot riding on this season. Godber is pencilled in as the starting centre on a revamped offensive line, despite missing all of last season with a foot injury. Defensive tackle Claudell Louis is starting his third season with the Lions and trying to earn a starter’s job after an uneven season in 2019.
David Knevel is projected as the sixth offensive linemen. Running back Jamel Lyles, a Surrey kid by way of the University of Manitoba, was a surprise last season, fighting his way up from the practice roster to play in seven games. Defensive back Hakeem Johnson spent last season on the practice roster and is looking for steady employment.
All have different stories, but they’re united in the same purpose: to bring some sense of normalcy to their lives, to try to connect with the world they know with the hope that, one day, they’ll play.
“I just try to attack every day,” says Knevel. “It’s the same thing as if there was a season and there were regular workouts. You just try to control what you can control and this is what I can control.”
Louis said he tried working out at home, but everything from the lack of proper equipment to the many distractions made it next to impossible. At the practice facility he has everything he needs, including a spotter in the weight room.
“It’s good when you have two,” he says. “That way you can go heavy.”
Away from the facility, however, things get a little more complicated. None of the three Lions interviewed have been paid since the end of last season. Knevel, who lives in a highrise next to the training complex, has been living off his savings and CERB.
Louis has started a personal training company, Limit_less and, of course, he’s caught the acting bug. Dude’s already booked a couple of TV shows. Both Louis and Knevel make in the neighbourhood of 80 grand a season. That’s when they’re getting paid.
Godber, meanwhile, is in a higher tax bracket at about $100,000 annually, but he also learned something important recently. CFL players start getting paid when the regular season starts and are paid on a pergame basis. Because two games have already been cancelled, that makes them eligible for employment insurance benefits.
“This is my job,” Godber says. “I don’t have another job. All my eggs are in this basket.”
This week, there were any number of troubling stories connected to professional leagues attempting to reopen amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Major League Baseball, the NHL, and the PGA Tour have all reported several positive tests for COVID-19.
The CFL, meanwhile, is still targeting a September opening to its schedule with the Grey Cup game played in December. That’s if the season starts at all.
“Man, if the worst thing that happens in my life is we miss half a football season, then we’re pretty lucky,” says Godber.
Actually, if the Lions miss only half a season, they’ll all be pretty lucky.