Of all the footballers who gathered in Montreal North on Tuesday at the same time as the Gray Cup and Vanier Cup, Jean-Marc Edmé, who grew up in the neighborhood, experienced great emotion.
• Also read: A Carabins defender competes in the Vanier Cup at just 9 months old and wins it almost 23 years later
“When it comes to Montreal North, there are often negative aspects, but we also have the chance to shine and move forward,” commented the man who holds the position of director of player personnel for the Alouettes. It is very important to me that we have come here for the young people to help them motivate themselves in school and in sports.
The 43-year-old Edmé is undoubtedly a role model for the people of Montreal-Nord, including for all these young football players, whether Aries or Spartans.
“I just have a passion for football,” said Edmé without false modesty. I love the process of evaluating players, writing reports and trying to find the next Alouettes star. I love it and enjoy getting up early in the morning to work hard.
The birth of a dream
On Tuesday, the Montrealer of Haitian descent, who attended Fraternité elementary school before attending Calixa-Lavallée secondary school, was accompanied by his fourth Gray Cup victory in 17 years in the Canadian Football League at the Henri Bourassa Pavilion.
Photo Pierre Paul Poulin
“My dream started here and it will always continue in Montreal North,” said Edmé. When I see the two trophies here today, I hope that they help young people to believe in themselves and inspire the desire to go beyond themselves to achieve their goals.
In addition to the Gray Cup, won by Edmé and the Alouettes, there is the Vanier Cup, won by the University of Montreal Carabins – some of whose athletes are from the neighborhood – who were inspirational in the activity organized by the community of Montréal-Nord and its mayor Christine Black.
Believe in yourself
There was a time when Edmé dreamed of playing professional football, but he very well imagined that at the same time he would have a career off the field.
“It was a shoulder injury that convinced me to stop playing, but even when I was playing I already had a penchant for recruiting,” Edmé, who notably wore the colors of the university from Sherbrooke, Quebec, did not note without having previously spent any money, a stay south of the border, at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. I had the goal of working in football after my playing career. I decided to do it and to be honest there weren't many people who believed in me. I knocked on several doors.”
After his time at Sherbrooke, Edmé had the happy idea of studying sports administration at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. An internship with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where he met Marcel Desjardins, paved the way for this career in the CFL.
“We're talking about a long journey, but what I tell young people is to believe in yourself,” concluded Edmé, whose parents still live in Montreal North. If you believe in your dreams, you really can achieve anything.”
A first since 1980
Prior to the Montreal club's recent conquest, Edmé had witnessed the Alouettes' back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 as the team's recruiter. In 2016, Edmé, who became player personnel coordinator, triumphed with the Ottawa Rouge et Noir.
This activity on Tuesday in Montreal North was a reminder that it is the first time since 1980 that two teams from the same city have won the Gray Cup and the Vanier Cup. It was 43 years ago that the Edmonton Eskimos and the Alberta Golden Bears were crowned. Around 1980 it is also the birth year of Jean-Marc Edmé.