Team effort needed to break record
STAMPS PREPARE FOR ALOUETTES
They would, should it happen, be far more than mere footnotes to history.
“Oh yeah, there’d be a sense of pride involved,’’ says long-snapper Randy Chevrier. “There has to be. We’re an operation. My skills are totally different than Bo’s, and Bo’s are totally different than Rene’s.
“But we’ve optimized that operation.
“It all has to come together on one snap.
“I guess it goes forward and backward. Without a good snap and a good hold, there’s no kick. And vice versa. If you have a kicker who, the minute the wind’s up has his head pointed up in the clouds worrying that the apocalypse is coming, well, nothing’s going’s to get accomplished anyway.
“We have, in my opinion, the best operation in the league right now. “So, pride. Yes. Of course.’’ With Calgary Stampeders’ kicker Rene Paredes taking dead aim at Paul McCallum’s CFL consecu- tive field-goal record of 30 — now requiring five to tie, six to shatter — every ball El Matador slingshots toward the uprights for the next couple of games carries added importance, over and above the customary, and often crucial, three points.
The man himself, should McCallum’s mark be toppled, will be the one bathed in spotlight. And fully deserving of each and every beam.
But never forget the role the back-up singers of this harmonious trio — Chevrier, the snapper, and Bo-Levi Mitchell, the holder — had in helping the tune shoot up the charts to No. 1.
“Do I feel ‘in on it?’” repeats Mitchell. “Oh, absolutely. But I think all the credit goes to Rene. And, never forget it, it’s not just the three of us. It’s the guys blocking up front, too. They allow us to do our parts.’’
Chevrier-to-Mitchell-to-Paredes. The Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance of the Stampeders. Money in the bank. And in keeping with the take-me-out-to-the-ballgame theme, offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson, himself a tee-toting member of the holders alumni association, uses the term “battery’’ to describe the centre-holder collaboration.
“When the kicker has trust in his snapper and his holder,’’ says Dickenson, “you’re going to make a lot more kicks. It’s all about trust. As a holder, you want a centre that puts the ball in a place you know where laces are going to be. Chevy does an outstanding job of that. When I held, Jamie Crysdale was centre and he was crappy in practice but every game he was money.
“Rene’s the most important facet of it, without a doubt. But it is a collaboration. From a holder’s standpoint, I think the key is not to let the ball move. The laces don’t have to be perfectly right down the middle but the ball has to be stopped. When you kick a ball that’s moving slightly that generates spin and it won’t fly straight.
“Any sort of a hiccup, and it all falls apart.
“Every (kicker) has his own deal. I know with Mark McLoughlin, his ball had a tendency to tail to the right so I couldn’t over-pull it back towards me. The key is to do it over and over and over until it becomes second nature.’’
What appears fairly routine, faintly mundane, from the far corner seat in the last row of, say, Section A, is in fact a meticulously rehearsed routine. Making the two men who touch the football before Paredes’ right foot launches it out into the stratosphere are of underappreciated, yet vital, significance.
“You never talk about ‘em unless something bad happens,’’ says Stamps’ special teams coach Mark Kilam. “But that’s what they want. Those guys are very much in demand, too. B.C. just signed a long-snapper off Saskatchewan’s practice roster because they were having some operational issues.
“And if you think about that operation, it’s happening in about 1.4 seconds or less. You’ve got linemen teeing off on you and you know that. But you’ve got to put the laces where they have to be, Bo has to catch the ball and put it down on the tee where Rene can see it. And it happens that’’ — a snap of the fingers — “fast.’’
For veteran campaigner Chevrier, who began snap- ping when Sandro DeAngelis was the big, booming leg in this town, the pride he spoke of in 31 or higher would go beyond professional. To, well, bordering on paternal.
“I always bug Rene. The day he and I met was July 3rd, 2011. I’ll never forget it because that was the day my son was born. So I was at the hospital for 24 hours, Rob (Maver) had gotten hurt the day before. Kilam called me at 6 in the morning, I had no sleep, and he was like ‘We’ve gotta work some guys out.’ Five, as I remember. There were guys who had CFL experience and some who had none.
“And Rene ... just the quietest. He wasn’t putting out that ‘Ah, I’ve got this!’ vibe. No swagger. He just did his job. I snapped a hundred balls to the different guys, and Rene was just on. From everywhere. From Day 1.
“So I always say he’s my other son.’’
Chevrier-to-Mitchell-to-Paredes. Money in the bank. Should McCallum’s mark in fact fall, what would be Paredes be on the hook for in recognizing the assistance of his largely-unsung “battery”? A nice sit-down dinner, perhaps? A few post-game pops? A gift card from Chap- ters or Cineplex Odeon?
“Naw,’’ scoffs Chevrier. “He won’t owe us a thing. Not a thing. Like I said, we’re an operation. It’s expected to try and be the best at this level. That’s what we strive for.
“Will we be happy if he breaks the record? Sure. Will we high-five each other? Yeah. Of course. But I don’t believe we’re going to go out and have a party. None of us came to training camp to set a record. We only have one goal in mind. That’d be only a nice bonus.
“I’m one of the few guys in the locker-room that knows what the champagne tastes like out of the Grey Cup. And I know how heavy that ring is when I put it on my finger.
“That’s what I want to be able to help these guys know, too. And I know that guy’’ — with a nod over at Paredes — “is one of the coolest cucumbers I’ve ever seen. I also know that whatever the circumstances, short or long, kicking for a record or to win a game, I’ve got a pretty good feeling when he’s out there.’’