Esks Train Huskies in Pilot Project

Over the years, plenty of Edmonton kids have lived out their dream of playing for the Edmonton Eskimos.

The late Gary Lefebvre, Marco Cyncar and Blake Dermott are among the team’s local legends who have been inspirations for different generations of young football players.

Edmonton-trained players like long snapper Ryan King, kicker Grant Shaw, offensive lineman David Beard and receiver Anthony Barrett all played their roles in helping the 2015 Eskimos become Grey Cup champions.

Local content has been part of the Eskimos winning tradition

It’s no surprise the community-based team has added another program to enhance its commitment to develop amateur football in northern Alberta.

A pilot project involving the Prairie Football Conference Edmonton Huskies has been designed to show future Eskimos players what it takes to make their dream come true.

With the help of Eskimos strength and conditioning coach Devin Clayton, players are able to develop training skills and workout technique fundamentals they need to help them take the next step in their careers.

The Huskies have been undergoing three-a-week sessions at the Commonwealth Stadium Field House since late February and will continue to be put through the paces until June.

It’s a program that takes the next logical step beyond the $600,000-plus amateur football teams and organizations such as the Huskies, the Edmonton Wildcats, the University of Alberta Golden Bears, Football Alberta and the Eskimos Alumni Association received through the Eskimos 50/50 game-day program.

Eskimos Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Ed Hervey saw a need beyond the dollars and cents.

It made sense that the Canadian game needed more players who were prepared to do what it takes.

“Basically, it’s one of our beliefs that we have to provide funds to different groups through the 50/50,” said Hervey about the well-established fund-raiser. “At the same time, it’s going to take more than those resources. We have to roll up our sleeves and give the players a different perspective. We have to show them how to work out, what kind of techniques they need to become successful players.”

Even though the Huskies are the first team in, the long-term vision is to get other organizations involved.

“Although it’s starting as a pilot project, we hope to get results and hope others will be part of it in the future,” said Hervey.

A month into the program, Huskies head coach Iain MacLean has already seen positive results.

“It was set up to establish accountability for the guys,” said MacLean. “If you want to take the next step, if this is what you want to do, this is what it takes. You’re being trained by the guy who runs the pro training. He’s very good and we’re seeing good gains from it.

“To have somebody who’s a professional trainer and our guys see that, it’s been awesome. The team has invested a lot of money into this and they believe this is what we have to do to get to the next level of accountability and to see what it takes.”

Even though the CFL Draft on May 10 focus mainly on CIS players, there are hidden gems like Barrett who made the jump from the Huskies to the Eskimos in 2014.

“They can see it,” said MacLean about the raw talent at the junior level. “It’s something I’m pretty excited about.”

It’s not enough any more just to show up at training camp in May and work yourself into shape. Having off-season training is nothing new for the Huskies.

“But this is a new level,” said MacLean. “The thing we’re so lucky about in Edmonton is that we have such a commitment from our CFL team and from Ed Hervey to want to make football better, not just for the Eskimos but for the entirety of northern Alberta. Seeing that with our guys, to become better football players, to become better athletes, it’s been amazing. We’ve seen it ten-fold. It’s been awesome to watch.”

Huskies slotback Connor Bergersen is back with the Huskies after helping the UBC Thunderbirds win the 2015 Vanier Cup.

“It brings the guys together,” said Bergersen. “It gets them together more than not seeing them the whole summer and seeing them at camp. We get to see each other’s faces a couple of times a week to master our craft and that’s a good thing.

“We’ve very grateful we get the opportunity to work with somebody like Devin. It gives us a perspective about what it takes to get to the next level. It’s very evident it’s helping us a lot.”