THREE RIVERS | Come rain or shine, the Alouettes train during the camp that continued in Trois-Rivières on Tuesday. Taking the postman’s job as an example, head coach Jason Maas made it clear that the weather would not be an obstacle to the Montreal club’s preparations.
“We talked about it at a team meeting,” said Maas. We are in Canada and we can play in different conditions throughout the season. It’s like a postman, he has to deliver the mail every day no matter the weather. The guys reacted well, I didn’t see a single player on the field who wasn’t smiling and working hard.
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Instead of delivering mail, there are quarterbacks who deliver balloons. And despite the two training sessions of the day and about four hours in the rain, everyone performed as expected by the coaches.
“If you went here to a professional camp, it’s because you’ve already faced adversity and gone through difficult times, whether it’s from the rain or even injuries,” commented Quebec defender Marc-Antoine Dequoy. Those who come here are men. In football you don’t control the environment, you have to learn to play in all circumstances. When it rains, the game changes and you have to get used to it.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Kristian Matte (51), center of the offensive line
“Some people don’t like standing out in the rain, but it’s a character-building thing,” said 37-year-old veteran offensive lineman Kristian Matte. We want to be able to go through anything. Regardless of the elements, we have work to do every day. We’re not made of chocolate or sugar either… There are times when you play in the rain or in the snow during a season.
A new identity
Obviously, Maas and the Alouettes want to use this current camp to define a team identity. In that sense, the cold rain will have been a good thing…as well as the hot rain that followed, no doubt.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Jason Maas, Alouettes head coach
“It’s raining, it’s cold, it’s less pleasant, but we talked at the beginning of the week that we would train unless there was lightning,” said Pier-Olivier Lestage in turn. , another element of the offensive line. We want being tough to be part of our identity. It separates men from children. We see that some can handle cold weather better… It allows us to see the guys who are able to play in all conditions.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Greg Ellingson, veteran wide receiver
► The Alouettes are off training on Wednesday and return to the Stade des Diablos in Trois-Rivières on Thursday morning.