The incessant drizzle may throw a dark cloud over the rest of us but it puts sun into the heart of football coaches trying to prepare a team for every environmental possibility.
So the Ticats’ Scott Milanovich was more than satisfied with the rain which soaked his players for every second of Thursday’s two-hour practice at McMaster. He was drenched but happy because he and his staff finally got what they had hoped for, even at Sunday’s controlled scrimmage.
“The quarterbacks handled it well, that’s probably the biggest concern,” the Ticat head coach said as he prepared his troops for Saturday’s exhibition game against the Toronto Argonauts at Hamilton Stadium (7 p.m., TSN)
“The guys catching and handling the ball went well. So we’ve had wind now; we got rain, if we get a little snow, we’ll have them all covered.”
Veteran players understand that despite the discomfort, there’s an advantage to being impelled to execute every maneuver while your helmet needs windshield wipers and your uniform feels like it’s stuck halfway through the rinse cycle.
“It’s just a mindset more than anything,” says philosophical fullback Ante Litre, who grew up in B.C., where Thursday’s precipitation would be called Vancouver sunshine.
“You have to be you; you have to be one with where you are, and be where your feet are. Have your weight over your feet. Just know what you’re dealing with and if you let the rain affect you, it’s going to get to you. If you decide before you step on the field that nothing’s going to stop you, nothing’s going to get in your way.
“This is Vancouver for January, December, half of October, most of February. All I know is the rain. I am the rain.”
As we mentioned: philosophical.
Defensive halfback DaShaun Amos had also done a little thinking about the rain and agreed with his coach that a team needs experience practicing in all conditions because sooner or later–especially in the important games of the unpredictable late autumn—those conditions can arrive without warning. He also echoed Litre’s caution that players need to keep their weight over their feet for better balance and grip and to avoid the injuries that come from a sudden slip.
But there are also slight differences between offence and defence in wet conditions. For one, offensive players are proactive: they know the play and can plan their footing for it. Defensive players are reactive; they have to move suddenly in rapid response to the offence’s actions.
“But,” Amos counters, “As a defence our eyes also kind of light up a little bit. We look to get more turnovers with the ball being a little more slick: punching the ball out; grabbing at the ball. It’s a little harder to throw a wet ball than a dry ball. So as DBs, we’re looking to get the ball out of the air.
“I don’t think much changes. Even when it’s a dry surface, or on grass, we always tell ourselves to keep our feet under ourselves. That’s how you get the most efficient brakes, the most power, out of it.
“But of course, you have to—I wouldn’t say be careful—but be a little more mindful of it. Just like if you were out there driving. It’s the same thing: you have tires that work but be mindful of the wet pavement.”
