New Blue boss makes good first impression

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/06/2010 (5660 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dave Ritchie would usually open training camp on a golf cart and scoot around to kibbitz with everybody from ball boys to the No. 1 quarterback. His team was an extension of his family, to be sure, but he also wasn’t against barking out orders that would rattle nearby windows.

Jeff Reinebold had the good folks in Portage’s Southport cursing his name as they awoke one Sunday morning to Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley blaring from speakers positioned at the four corners of the field. If there was a how-to-run-a-training-camp manual, the free-spirited head coach had torched the thing long before the troops arrived.

And Cal Murphy, just to get everybody’s juices flowing, would often quietly whisper into one of his veteran’s ears — good ol’ Brett MacNeil being the most likely candidate — to hunker down in the trenches and start something nasty. Old school through and through.

So over the years there have been some rather memorable moments framed on the first day of Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp, especially when the whole thing is being orchestrated by a new head coach.

"First impression? First day is the same whenever you get a new coaching staff: there’s a lot of enthusiasm and energy," said Doug Brown, the longest-serving Bomber and a man who has suited up for Ritchie, Jim Daley, Doug Berry, Mike Kelly and now Paul LaPolice in his 10 years in blue and gold. "But the different thing is this coaching staff is already really empowering us in terms of demanding feedback and requesting that we take ownership of what we’re doing on the field. As players you appreciate that feedback, that rapport.

"What’s interesting is (LaPolice) is the same guy he was as offensive coordinator in 2002-2003. He hasn’t changed his personality just because he’s moved up the ladder. You know he’s not trying to put on a show. You know there’s nobody behind the curtain and he’s just trying to be himself. He’s genuine."

Fact is, there were long stretches during Sunday’s workout when the 2,500 diehards in attendance would have had to really search to find the new head coach at work. It wasn’t that he was hiding or not actively coaching — his voice could be heard occasionally as he tutored the offence, in particular — it’s just that the man wasn’t going out of his way to draw attention to himself.

He punched the clock, just like everyone else, and when practice was over met with some fans, conducted his daily media conference in which he praised his staff and then continued on with the process of sculpting his squad. And that approach is by design — not as some sort of anti-Kelly angle — but because it’s just how the man rolls.

"I’m going to be who I am and do the things I’ve done to be successful. A lot of that is simply treating people right and with respect, but being demanding at the same time and holding people accountable," said LaPolice. "It’s a consistent message because the players will see through it when you flip-flop or change.

"A leader’s job is to define the reality and then give hope."

Of course, we must provide a small disclaimer here: no player is going to trash the new boss on the first day of work, knowing it could be career suicide. So the fact that the early reviews are all coming with two thumbs up — way up — is hardly surprising. But there’s also no mistake the evidence is piling up to the good in favour of LaPolice & Co., whether it’s prompted or not.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"When I first met him this winter we had a meeting and it felt like a job interview," said veteran safety Shawn Gallant. "He asked me, ‘What do we need to make this team better?’ One of the things I told him was we had only one viewing station last year and so I couldn’t watch film if somebody on offence was watching film. He got us five computers right off the bat.

"The way I look at it, there’s three different kinds of coaches," Gallant continued. "There’s one that never yells and you feel like you can almost walk over him and you almost wish he would give you discipline, like a parent. Then there’s the other coach who yells all the time and by Day 2 you’re blocking it out. And then there’s a coach like this who talks to you with respect, like (Montreal’s) Marc Trestman, and so when he yells at you, you really take it to heart.

"That’s what he’s shown so far and the guys are loving it."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

TODAY’s BOMBER REPORT C3