November 2020
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The Gryphons’ Lair Issue 46 - Nov 2020 What Happened in October? #Unpaused: Stu Lang Speaks on Football Advancement Stu Lang explains what role the Advancement Team plays in supporting the Football Program, the various initiatives the Gryphon Football team has been a part of over the years, and the exciting new additions that are coming to Alumni Stadium. Gryphon Strength and Conditioning Featured in the Guelph Tribune: Keeping the Gryphons Game Ready in Times of COVID Usually around the Thanksgiving weekend the Guelph Gryphons are preparing for their final two games of the Ontario university (OUA) football league’s regular season and the league’s playoffs. Of course, 2020 has been anything but a usual year. There is no OUA football season this year and the Gryphons just returned to modified and scaled-down optional workouts late last month. “I'm just happy to be back in the swing of things with the guys after a very long layoff,” Gryphon strength and conditioning coach Adam Kania said. “Things are progressing well and the guys are happy to be back together so there's a little bit of a semblance of normalcy to it which is nice.” Most players in the area are back to working out, but in smaller sizes… To read more of this article written by Rob Massey, please click here. Judy Beeksma Opens up About Breast Cancer Breast Cancer survivor Judy Beeksma sat down with us to share her own personal story and how much it means to her to see her son and Gryphon Football suit up in pink. SHe also gave her own encouraging words to others. Click here to watch the video. Gryphons 50/50 Lottery The Guelph Gryphons are excited to offer a new 50/50 lottery! Managed electronically, this 50/50 draw has two early bird prizes with a final prize draw on December 15, 2020. All proceeds go towards supporting University of Guelph student-athletes physical, mental and academic well-being. 1 for $5 | 10 for $10 | 60 for $20 Purchase your tickets here. FOGF Swag Handout On Saturday October 24th, the Gryphon Football Advancement Team was reunited with some of our Friends of Gryphon Football members to present them with packages of Gryphon Football swag (from a distance of course!). Members received jackets, baseball caps, and more as a thank you for their contributions to the Gryphon Football program. 50th Anniversary Zoom Call Over 45 Gryphon Football Alumni joined together with former Gryphon Head Coaches John Musselman, Dan McNally, Kyle Walters, and Stu Lang as part of the celebration of th the 50 Anniversary of Alumni Stadium. Coach Shehan moderated a panel discussion on their experiences as Gryphon Head Coaches. Participants heard stories about the tradition of post-game celebrations from Coach McNally, the point when Coach Musselman knew his 1984 team could win it all, and Coach Walters and Lang talking about their first meeting. After the panel, alumni spent some time catching up with their past coaches in a smaller group setting. With Coach McNally living just outside Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Coach Walters in Winnipeg, Coach Musselman in Windsor and Coach Lang in Puslinch, the zoom format allowed the group to gather in one place that might not have been possible in a normal situation. Gryphons in the Community Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Fundraising Through the month of October, the Breast Cancer Awareness Flag was flying outside of the University of Guelph Football Pavilion. The Gryphon Football family proudly supported Breast Cancer Awareness month through a variety of initiatives. Throughout the month, pink Gryphon Strong Hoodies were sold and all proceeds collected are being donated to Breast Cancer Research through an organization called “Look Good Feel Better”. We look forward to helping local women and teens facing cancer. Thank you to all who supported this cause. Celebrations 50th Anniversary of Alumni Stadium October 17th marked 50 years of incredible moments celebrated at Alumni Stadium. Read about the stadium’s history and alumni connections in this article. Tavius Robinson on TSN Previous Gryphon football player Tavius Robinson chats with Farhan Lalji about making a strong impression so far with the Rebels, what's been the biggest adjustment going from Canadian football to playing in the SEC, facing fellow Canadian John Metchie and Alabama, and much more. Click here to watch the interview. Training Talk November Update by Coach Kania This month's Training Talk will be brief. Happy to report that we have continued following public health safety guidelines indoors as well as out, and all of our athletes remain healthy. Aside from their overall health, we are seeing great increases in our strength numbers across the board thanks to our consistency since mid-September. Happy to report that a decision has been made in regards to the supplier of our weight room, which will be announced by Gryphon Football in the near future. The vision of the Coaches, Strength and Conditioning Staff as well as our Advancement Team is slowly coming to fruition as construction continues at Alumni Stadium. Finally, we are in the process of figuring out our winter schedule for training come January. We'll slowly be coming back full circle to where we were prior to be shut down for the six months that we were. The upside is, we have had our stellar 2020 recruiting class with us conditioning, working on their form running, learning best practices within the confines of the weight room, and changing their body composition while gaining strength at the same time. It will be exciting to see this team on the field when competition resumes. Featured Alumnus Our Featured Alumnus for this month is former Gryphon, Rob Emery. During his time at the University of Guelph, Rob studied Agricultural Science. After a successful career in the telecom industry, Rob started his own Trade Credit Insurance Brokerage. Rob’s company helps businesses of all types and all sizes protect their most valuable asset: their Accounts Receivables. He says that “working with such diverse companies to help them achieve their goals keeps [his] career exciting” and finds that leading a team has been “very rewarding”. When asked to reflect on his Gryphon Football experience, Rob says that being a Gryphon taught him innumerable lessons both on and off the field. The standout lesson that Rob highlighted was the mantra, “Pay the Price”. It taught him a strong work ethic and perseverance through tough times. He says that this mantra can lead to “great achievements”. Rob also said that being a Gryphon taught him the importance of teamwork. “These lessons not only guided me professionally, but also laid the foundation for success”, said Emery. Rob says that his favourite memory from playing with the Gryphons was “winning the Yates Cup”. “There was something very special about the 1996 and 1997 teams”’ he fondly recalls. We are so proud of Rob’s contributions to Gryphon Football. Thank you for being our featured alumnus, Rob! Tweet of the Month The November tweet of the month was published by Mitchell Woods Public School. Gryphon Football is so excited to see local students sporting our donated masks. To keep up with us on Twitter, click here. Monthly Pick-Me-Up Check out this shot of one of our players edited by the incredible Matt Sharpe. Arts & Culture This month’s Arts & Culture feature is the neon gryphon. This piece is located in the boardroom where coaches meet and team prospects commit to the Gryphon. Neon was selected so that its red glow could be seen by the passing cars on College Ave. Next time you pass by, see if you can spot it! Gryphons Gone Pro This month’s "Gryphon Gone Pro" is the outstanding Jedson Tommy. Tommy was a member of the Grey Cup Champion Team in 1986 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He played from 1986 to 1995 during his career with the Ottawa Rough Riders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Jedson ran for 703 yards in his career on 194 attempts, scoring 3 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 86 passes for 644 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. While on the Gryphons, Jedson was the captain on the 1984 Vanier team. We are so proud of Jedson's success! Save the Date Gala Dinner: May 15, 2021* Golf Tournament: July 23, 2021* *dependent on COVID-19 restrictions closer to the event FOGF Memberships Become a Member Interested in becoming an FOGF Member? There are three different tiers to our memberships: Red, Gold and Black. To find out more information about our memberships and what is involved in each level, please click here. For questions about the membership, please contact Bill Brown at [email protected]. Share Your News If you have any news or updates, we would be more than happy to share them in our upcoming newsletter. Please reach out to [email protected] for any celebrations, announcements of bereavements that you would like us to share. .