The Gryphons’ Lair Issue 44 - Sept 2020

What Happened in August?

Gryphon #Unpaused

The 2020 season has been cancelled.... but the Gryphons will not be pausing their efforts and waiting for the 2021 season to begin. They will be launching the #Unpaused season. Stay tune for daily celebrations, interviews, highlights, fundraisers and contests. We have so much to celebrate around our football program and we will be doing so around what would have been the 2020 home game schedule.

The players will be entering a Return to Play schedule and hope to soon be catching balls like Jordan Terrio above. #Unpaused

A series of Interviews were captured last week. Alumni and RB great Nick Fitzgibbon is pictured above during his socially distanced interview on the patio of the Pavilion.

The Blitz with Head Coach Ryan Sheahan ​

On the Blitz, Jared is joined by Head Coach Ryan Sheahan. Coach Sheahan talks about the joys of becoming a new father, how the program is adjusting to life without football in 2020, the bright future for Gryphon Football and how cold lemon-lime Gatorade showers are.

Click here to check out the episode. ​ ​

The ALL24 with Dennis McPhee

Our very own Defensive Coordinator for the University of Gryphons, Dennis McPhee was featured on the latest episode of THE ALL24 SHOW. Coach McPhee is a ​ ​ longtime CFL and football coach, and on the show, he sits down with the hosts to talk Pass Rush. Click here to watch the full video interview. ​ ​

Life After Football with Stevenson Bone

This past month, the Guelph Gryphons Quarterback Coach Stevenson Bone was featured in an episode of the Life After Football Podcast. He joined hosts Dakota and Zac to talk about his transition into the coaching and football operations world. To listen to the full podcast on Spotify, click here. ​ ​

Gryphon Football Pavilion Featured on Doors Open Guelph

Our Gryphon Football pavilion, and its many artistic architectural features, have been highlighted on the Digital Doors Open Guelph Tour. Catch us live on September 8th at guelphartsevents.com. Check it out and visit the website for additional updates on ​ #DOGtales, digital tour releases, and special bonus material for the sites!

Construction of the new Performance Centre

The road to success is always under construction. Our Performance Centre under the stands of is being upgraded to a state of the art facility to complement our Nation leading Pavilion. The expansion will include: turf field for positional work, new equipment and flooring, glassed in viewing walls, large screen with retraction and much more. Follow our social media for updates on the progress of the construction.

Gryphons in the Community

Gryphon Strong Face Mask Campaign

This month, $5000 was donated thanks to the “Gryphon Strong” Face Mask Campaign. Proceeds from the Covid-19 mask sales went towards the Guelph Community Foundation (@GuelphCF) - to help the Alzheimer’s Society of Waterloo and Wellington ​ ​ (@alzsocww) and to support their therapeutic recreation virtual programming for ​ ​ seniors in Guelph, including their new volunteer training program, the Guelph Arts Council (@guelpharts @GuelphCF) – to support their Covid artist support service which ​ ​ ​ will offset membership fees for local Guelph artists, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guelph (@GuelphCF @BBBSofGuelph) – to support the development and launch of ​ ​ ​ their virtual mentoring program in Guelph. If you wish to purchase masks, please email [email protected]

Radios Delivered to North Spirit Lake First Nations Community Elders

August 13th was such an inspired day for our Gryphon family. Nishnawbe Aski Police Cst. Miles Leo handed out the radios (donated by previous Gryphon Football captain Brian Dunjko) to the North Spirit Lake First Nations Community Elders! Well done everyone and sincerest of thanks to all those who contributed to make this happen. Special thank you to Doug Pflug for coordinating this project.

The following article takes a deeper dive into some background information on this initiative, as well as Doug Pflug’s involvement in the project:

Community Policing in Action with North Spirit Lake First Nations Radio Fundraiser

A Nishnawbe Aski Police Service officer is on a mission to make his community, North ​ ​ Spirit Lake First Nations, a safer place by engaging and connecting Elders with radios — a valuable tool for crisis communications and socializing in an area where cell service is spotty. Uchenna “Miles” Orakwelu, who immigrated to Canada from Nigeria eight years ago, befriended his community policing instructor, Douglas Pflug, a retired sergeant of the Guelph Police Service, when he was attending basic recruit training at the Police College (OPC) in Aylmer, Ont.

“The concepts of community policing that I learned have provided me with the tools that I can now use to reach out and build a better relationship between the police and the First Nations communities I serve,” Orakwelu said.

In his community policing class, Pflug said he challenges each police recruit to “go back to your respective communities, make at least one stranger smile per shift and over a 30-year career that’s well over 6,000 opportunities for positive engagement with your community.”

Orakwelu and Pflug have continued their friendship and mentorship and last month Orakwelu asked his former instructor for help in further applying the Ontario Association ​ of Chiefs of Police Mobilization & Engagement Model of Community Policing in his ​ community.

To read more of this article, written by the Blue Line staff, please click here. ​ ​

Gryphons Participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters Tournament

Covid 19 did not prevent the Gryphons from reaching out to the community. In this case the Gryphons continued their partnership with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guelph provided every golfer with a branded mask and sponsored their closest to the pin contest.

AJ Allen Speaks Out About Black Lives Matter

Join AJ Allen and the rest of Gryphon Football on our quest for change.

Celebrations

Johnny Augustine and John Rush Presented with 2019 Grey Cup Rings

Captured on Alumnus Johnny Augustine’s social media post. Augustine and John Rush were presented with their 2019 Grey Cup rings time add to their 2015 ring collection. Congratulations and we are very proud of you. Alumni, GM and Head Coach Mike O’Shea added to their collection as well.

Did You Know?

Training Talk

September Update I can finally provide an exciting update for Gryphon Nation!

Within the last few weeks, various committees and subcommittees proposed “Return to Training” plans to the administration of the University. After much debate and research, the Athletics department has finally been given the green light to return to training.

We will finally be able to return to the field, and the weight room as of mid-September, albeit under much different circumstances that we are typically accustomed to. Our Gryphon football players will be training twice a week in house with the Coaches, both on the field and in the weight room to start as we slowly begin to recondition the team. We will also be partaking in two practices a week on the field that are more team and football centric.

Our numbers will be reduced, to coincide with provincial and school legislation. Our athlete’s safety continues to be of the utmost importance at this point. Each athlete will undergo health screening daily to ensure their safety and the safety of their teammates and coaches. They will be required to wear masks when entering the facility, but not upon partaking in physical activity. I have structured the workouts in a Group A and Group B format due to the layout of our temporary space as our Alumni Stadium weight room continues renovations. The intent is to also book a third workout that the athletes will do on their own, either in the school gym or elsewhere if they choose.

It is our understanding that if all goes well, our ability to get together will increase in the coming weeks. In the current world that we live in, following safety and procedures (as I’m sure we’re all becoming accustomed to), has taken a priority in our daily life and this will be no different. For this column next month, I’ll be pleased to pass along some graphics of your Gryphon football team back at work together as we prepare for the 2021 season. I say this because our players have done an amazing job on their own continuing to stay ready, so we don’t have to get ready.

Finally, I am happy to report that due to the renovations we have upcoming at Alumni Stadium, we were able to donate 5 major pieces of our old equipment to Centennial High School in Guelph. Our Lat Pulldown/Seated Row, Jammer, Prone Leg Curl, Dual Cable Cross and Assisted Chin-up/Dip Machine have a new home with Spartan Athletics. We look forward to seeing those pieces put to use with (hopefully) our Future Gryphon athletes.

As always, if you want to stay up to date with our strength and conditioning, please follow along on Instagram at @StrengthCoachK where I will be posting pictures and videos of our return to training. Stay safe out there.

Written by: Adam Kania, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Gryphon Football

Featured Alumnus

Our Featured Alumnus for this month is former Gryphon, Harry Brightwell.

During his time at the , Harry studied Veterinary Medicine, at the Ontario Veterinary College. He graduated from the Veterinary College in 1956 and ​ ​ chose to enter private practice first in Sudbury with OVC 49 Graduate Dr Frank Flowers. “In early 1959, following advice from the late Dr Jack Cote (a friend and former football coach), I established my own practice in Stratford, Ontario and continued to practice there until I changed careers in 1984”, says Harry. In 1984, Brightwell was elected as the MP for the riding of Perth. He was re-elected in the next election, representing a slightly different area, and was defeated in 1993. Following this, he trained and worked in a financial advisory role until retirement.

During his time at the University of Guelph, Brightwell played football for three years and wrestled for five. He was also honoured as the first recipient of the Male Athlete of the Year award in 1956.

Harry was born and raised in rural Northern Ontario and recalls moving away to University as being “an intimidating experience”. “Team sport at the university was a comfort and an honour to me and I found I could compete successfully”, reminisces Harry. He played on the Aggie football team for three of his five years on campus, and achieved great successes on the team as well. “Later on, I was also very pleased to have my son wrestle while at U of G on his way to representing Canada at the 1984 Olympics, and my grand-daughter wrestling out of who became a Canadian Champion”.

“I think the greatest benefit of being on the team is the endearing friendships that were established including those with Dr. Jack Cote and Jay Fry who was coach of the football team”. Harry also mentions enjoying team travel and says that he still has many memories of it.

We are so proud of Harry’s contributions to Gryphon Football. Thank you for agreeing to be our featured alumnus, Harry!

Featured FOGF Member This month’s Featured FOGF Member is Shawn McFalls.

Shawn became a Black-level FOGF member when his son, Andy began playing football in his first year of university in 2017. Even though Andy decided to hang up his cleats prior to his third year, he has continued to support the team in this manner as a thanks for the help that he received.

Shawn recalls that his most memorable FOGF moment would either be the double win vs Waterloo in the final game of the 2018-2019 season or the OUA semi-final come from behind victory vs Ottawa that same year! Both moments were incredibly exciting for all of Gryph nation but were noted as standout moments for McFalls.

This year, Shawn took part in his first FOGF Annual General Meeting. “I also attend the annual golf tournament when my schedule permits”, shares Shawn.

“My wife, Carrah and I still try to attend two or three football games a year”, he says. Their presence at home games is truly appreciated by all.

Thank you so much for your support, Shawn. We truly appreciate your continued involvement in Gryphon Football. You’re such a valuable member of the Gryphon family.

Tweet of the Month The September tweet of the month was published by Amy Atkinson. We will definitely miss seeing our youngest Gryphon fans in-person this season but can’t wait to be reunited soon!

To keep up with us on Twitter, click here. ​ ​

Monthly Pick-Me-Up

Check out these shots of our players edited by the incredible Matt Sharpe.

Arts & Culture

This month’s Arts & Culture feature highlights our one-of-a-kind barber’s chair that can be found in the team's locker room. This novelty piece is used by players and guest barbers to style hair for playoffs. This feature keeps our team looking fresh and was inspired by the Oregon Ducks!

Gryphons Gone Pro

This month’s "Gryphon Gone Pro" is Cam Thorn. In his first season with the Stamps, he appeared in 13 games and made four starts. He was part of a Stamps offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the @CFL in 2016 and helped Jerome Messam win the ​ ​ CFL rushing title. We are so proud of Cam’s many successes.

Save the Date

Future event dates to be determined.

Virtual Season Events (stay tuned for more details): September 6, 2020 September 12, 2020 September 26, 2020 October 17, 2020

Gala Dinner: May 15, 2021 ​

Golf Tournament: July 23, 2021 ​

Mike O’Shea’s Golf Tournament: Monday September 21, 2020 ​

Former Gryphon and current Winnipeg Blue Bombers Head Coach Mike O’Shea is coming to town to host a golf tournament for us on Monday September 21, 2020. Mike is coming to have a fun filled day at Cutten Fields Golf Club and help raise money for our scholarship fund at the same time.

Tickets are $275 per golfer ($1,000 for a foursome) and a tax receipt will be given for the donation portion.

To register please visit https://gryphonstickets.universitytickets.com/ ​

FOGF Memberships

Become a Member

Interested in becoming an FOGF Member? There are three different tiers to our memberships: , 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.