As the players left the field after the fifth offseason practice on March 5 the enthusiasm was high and the work done on the field was apparent on the faces of everyone in attendance. 

Not an unusual observation for a group of young men working towards the upcoming season; what was out of the ordinary is that this practice did not involve helmets, shoulder pads, or any of the equipment seemingly obvious for running a football practice.

“The game has changed and we are doing all we can to be leaders in Safe Contact in our sport” said Head Coach Iain MacLean. “ We want to work hard and teach fundamental skills that will make the difference in the season, we need to be able to teach this in a proper way with our player’s safety in mind. We set up our practices to teach and limit the contact on our players in the season, in the offseason it is vital that we reduce the collisions and focus on technique; these practices help us do just that.”

All of the Huskies offseason sessions are conducted without equipment with a focus on fundamental teaching. This does not mean that competition is not a priority. “Every drill we do, the coaches make sure we know that we are expected to compete at the highest level, against the defence and within our units” said first year receiver Harrison Cabel, “It’s nice being taught great technique and fundamentals without needing to beat your body up every practice.”

When the pads come on at spring camp in May, the focus will remain on longterm player development and safety. “We spend a lot of time scripting what we do in practice. Teaching is always our first focus; when it’s time to be physical and hit in practice, the players know what we expect. We don’t have many live periods, but when we do they are for a purpose”, stated Coach MacLean. “Our focus is on being fundamentally sound in our blocking and tackling techniques and teaching the game properly so that our players can compete at the highest level. Being responsible for the safety of our players is a major part of that. These practices develop our players physically and mentally while ensuring that we keep their safety at the highest priority”.

The Huskies will be back at it on March 26 from 8:00 10:00 a.m. at the Commonwealth Stadium Fieldhouse.

Spring Camp will be held at Huskie House from May 5-8 if you are interested in registering for Spring Camp or for more information please visitwww.edmontonhuskies.com