By Sheri Trapp
For Riderville.com

When you work in an industry where so many factors must be aligned in a way that every member of the organization must come together to reach the ultimate goal of success, a philosophy or plan needs to be put in place. This then gives each group, within the organization, a better understanding of what they must strive for to ensure unified triumph is attained.

In professional sport so many factors come into play and it’s very similar to piecing together a puzzle. Everyone wants to win and all want to be champions. In order to achieve this, it is key to establish a plan for success and that’s precisely what is developing here in Riderville.  

There has been a lot of conversation around the stadium about ‘winning the off-season’. Coach Chamblin speaks on its importance often and most of us already have it engrained in our brains. But what exactly does ‘winning the off-season’ mean and what does it entail? Well I sat down with Coach and found out precisely that.

‘Winning the off-season’ is the first phase in the ultimate goal of being the best.  It is the first segment of the Riders plan to aim for unified triumph. This first chapter, which takes place over the winter months, is about preparation and ensuring all parts of the team work collectively and take responsibility for what they can control. Then in the end, all will come together for the common goal of being the best.

In football operations it can be broken down into three major areas which must work together as described. The first area is the coaches. Their goal and key to ‘winning the off-season’ includes an evaluation process as they look back over last season. As they review everything that occurred with the Riders in 2011 they must gauge what worked and what didn’t. They are faced with hard decisions yet they know their main focus is to ensure the team gets better, and to do this they will focus on scheme and personnel.

The next up is the players themselves. To win the off-season they need to make a commitment to preparing themselves mentally and physically for the upcoming season. It is a necessity for them to be in the best possible condition in both ways in order for the team to achieve ultimate success.

And finally the last area of focus is management. Their main goal and key to winning the off-season is free agency and the CFL Canadian Draft. Through those avenues they can ensure they have done the most possible to capture player personnel that will assist in the team finding success this coming season.

With clear direction in place for all, the work has already begun behind the scenes. All involved are aware of what must be accomplished in this first phase in order to make sure ‘winning the off-season’ becomes a reality. Now that the plan is laid out on paper it makes great sense and perhaps to some even seems somewhat simple. Yet the difficulty lies in trusting that each piece will do their part to ensure when everyone finally comes together at training camp, the next phase can begin and the progression to success can continue.