Gryphons’ Lair Issue 55 – August 2021

What Happened in July?

Return of the Annual FOGF Golf Tournament

The Friends of Gryphon Football hosted their annual FOGF Golf Tournament on Friday, July 23rd, a long-anticipated reunion following the cancellation of last year’s tournament due to Covid-19. Although restrictions called for reduced numbers, the day was incredible, providing perfectly sunny weather, and a great day of golf. A special thank you to everyone who participated in the tournament, we hoped you enjoyed your day as much as we did! A special congratulations goes out to Dudley Brown, Tom Newbigging, Chuck Sims and Pat Neild who were the winning foursome of the day, featured below (left to right). Lastly, thank you to our sponsors and all of those who donated to this tournament. Your support is so greatly appreciated.

Argo’s Camp at Alumni Stadium

We are so happy to have hosted the this past month for their annual Training Camp. With strict Covid-19 measures in place, the Argo’s have been utilizing our locker room, meeting spaces and field for their camp.

Argonaut’s employee, Alex Russell, credits the facility as being the “nicest USports locker room in Canada, with 110 lockers in total”. The Argos further credited our facilities as being “the jewel” of USports.

To read more on the training camp and the Covid-19 protocols that have been put in place for a safe CFL return, please click here.

Mini-Camp

We are officially gearing up for the season! For the first time since the beginning of 2020, the boys were finally able to put their helmets on and hit the field in our team’s Mini-Camp. Lasting only a weekend, vets and rookies alike got to gear up and put into play their off-field training and plays. We are so excited to be back and ready for training camp to take place at the end of the summer.

Celebration

Gryphons at CFL Training Camps

The CFL kicked off their training camps last month, which was an exciting time for many of our previous Gryphons. Congratulations and good luck to the Gryphons who are participating in their first-ever professional training camps. The following former Gryphons are taking part in CFL camps this summer: Coulter Woodmansey, Gabriel Ferraro, Andrew Pickett, Curtis Newton, Jacob Scarfone, AJ Allen, Ben Petrie, Dotun Aketepe, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Jaylan Guthrie, Jake Reinhart, Johnny Augustine, Eric Starczala and Royce Metchie. We know you will make us proud, boys! We can’t wait to see you take the field!

Reinhart Preps for his Seventh Season with the Argos

University of Guelph alumnus, Jake Reinhart, is gearing up for his seventh season with the Argos, a rarity in the CFL. The Argos are the only team that the Guelph native has played for in his CFL career. Reinhart faced a slight set-back in the last year, when he tore his calf in the 2019 season. To read more on Reinhart and his preparation towards his seventh season with the Argos, please click here.

Schaffer-Baker Fights for Roughrider Spot

Kian Schaffer-Baker is working for a tough spot on the upcoming Roughrider’s roster. Kian graduated from the University of Guelph this past year and is currently taking part in Saskatchewan’s training camp where Receivers are a highly-competitive group. The linked article features Roughrider’s Receiver’s Coach, Travis Moore, crediting Kian as an athletic and talented individual for whom the “sky is the limit”. We wish you the best of luck during camp Kian and are rooting for you! To read more on the Saskatchewan Roughrider’s and their talented class of Receivers, including the success of Kian Schaffer-Baker, please click here.

Featured Alumnus

This month’s Featured Alumnus is John Rush. If you are unfamiliar, Rush played for the Gryphons from 2011-2015 and had quite the impact on the success of the team. During his time at the University of Guelph, Rush was awarded with various achievements, including OUA Defensive Player of the Year, CIS Player of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year (2015) and was the Yates Cup M.V.P. Additionally, he was the Team Captain for the 2013 and 2015 seasons.

Following graduation, Rush was signed to the as a Free Agent, where he has been playing for the past five years, up until Covid. Originally a Niagara native, Rush recently moved permantly to Winnipeg last year.

Rush graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Guelph, majoring in Marketing Management. Today, he works at Scotiabank as a Financial Consultant for Doctors.

Reflecting on his time at UofG, Rush feels that practice is the part he misses the most.

“Practice was always so much fun! You could go with your buddies, doing something that you love to do and you’re competing to get better every single day. It was so much fun to do that! There’s nothing really like that in the real world. At times, it was definitely challenging but overall that is what I miss the most. That, and hanging around the locker room afterwards”.

For Rush, the highlight of his time at the University of Guelph was a no-brainer: “Winning the Yates”. After going 7-1 and falling short for the four years prior, finally making it to the Yates Cup was an accomplishment like no other. He mentioned that finally being able to win it in his final year at Guelph with his friends, teammates, and Coach Lang was a pretty special moment. To John, the moments with the guys were additional stand-out moments for his time with the team. “It never felt like work and you never wanted to leave. It was just so much fun and that’s something that you don’t always get in the real world”.

We asked John if he would provide any advice to his past-self and current Gryphons. To this, he laughed and responded that he would simply tell himself to do more. “School. Football. Community. You think you’re working hard but you could always work harder. I learned this when I got to the pros and saw guys who were on a whole other level”.

We wish John all the best with his current career and hope to see him back soon at Alumni Stadium.

Featured FOFG Member

Our Featured FOGF Member for the month is Nathan Body! Body graduated from the University of the Guelph in 1997 and played for the Gryphons. During his time with the Gryphons, Body helped the team win the 1996 Yates and is now a part of the 1990’s Team of the Decade.

Body studied Finance and Economics at the University of Guelph and began working for a telecommunications company in 1999. This experience led him to begin a mobile phone venture that he continued for the next five years. In 2006, Nathan began a power sports business, expanding to two stores over the past 15 years. The stores are currently located in both Oakville and Barrie and he sells ATVs, Snowmobiles, Indian motorcycles, etc.

Body currently lives in Barrie where he owns some acreage and is able to enjoy power sports right in his own backyard.

Reflecting on his time with the Gryphons, the Yates Cup victory is the main memory that stands out for Nathan. Additionally, he mentions that the Guelph Gryphons were ranked #1 in the country in 1997 (following the Yates), where they went 6-0, only to lose the remainder of the games. “Oddly enough, I enjoyed that year just as much as the year of the Yates”.

Body decided to become an FOGF member after a close friend, Randy Dimitroff told him about the amazing opportunity for Alumni to give back to the program and stay involved. He decided that he wanted to participate and reciprocate all that the program gave to him.

Additionally, Body has two daughters and has provided a scholarship award at the University of Guelph for female athletes.

Congratulations on all of your success, Nathan, and for giving back to the Gryphon Football Program! Thank you for being this month’s Featured FOGF Member.

Featured Player

This month’s Featured Player is 5’10, 185lb from Brampton, Ontario, Juwan Jeffrey. Juwan is currently entering his fourth year at the University of Guelph, in the Criminal Justice and Public Policy program.

Juwan has been keeping busy throughout this past pandemic year.

“I was used to having a schedule and always having to be somewhere. Now, I’m stuck at home and have way more time on my hands, I didn’t even know what to do with myself. I saw this as an opportunity to take more time for ourselves and get better, make my body better and prepare for the season. I knew the season was gonna come back at some point, so I really wanted to take advantage of this time”.

He is currently balancing two jobs, working both at the grocery story as a Cashier and Customer Service, along with TD Bank as a Teller.

When speaking about staying in shape throughout Covid, Jeffrey mentioned that it has been challenging as gyms have been closed, but that some of the guys have gotten creative, utilizing public parks and their garages to get their workouts in. “It really hasn’t been too bad for me personally. I have been able to really apply myself during this time off”.

We asked Juwan what he misses most about the pre-pandemic world. His answer came easy: “The social life for sure. I’ve really missed the social aspect of university. It’s been taken away from us through Covid but luckily seems to be coming back now”.

Jeffrey is looking forward to getting back into the stadium, being around the guys on the team and getting back into normal school mode.

“The comradery around the locker room is something you never really realize you’d miss but I really do miss it. There are so many different guys and personalities you’d interact with every single day and I miss those differing interactions. I’m also excited to get back to lectures and school. The Covid semesters were difficult for me, being online. I found it to be a bit more challenging to have to teach yourself content. I prefer being in lecture so I’m really looking forward to getting back to that”.

Juwan is currently gearing up, and excited, for the shortened season, training both with the team individually. He is ready for the season and had very simple final words: “Just let me know when I need to play and I’ll be there”.

Tweet of the Month

The Tweet of the Month goes out to the Toronto Argonaut’s, who captured the journey from the locker room to the Alumni Stadium field. Blue oddly goes well with red, don’t you think? Welcome to Alumni Stadium, Toronto. To view the full Tweet, please click here.

Did you Know?

During this year’s FOGF golf tournament our very own assistant coach hit an impressive eagle on the last par 5 of the day. Stevenson Bone’s shots were captured on Jason Moreton’s watch. Congrats Coach Bone.

Gryphons Gone Pro

This month, we celebrate our Gryphon Gone Pro, Rob Maver. Maver was a Kicker/ during his time with the Gryphons and is part of the 2000s Team of the Decade. Maver was drafted in the first round of the 2010 CFL draft to the and was drafted fifth overall. Throughout his time with the Stampeders, Maver was a three-time West Division All-Star and was a league All-Star twice. He also won the Stampeders’ Harrison Memorial Award – twice! This award recognizes community service, along with the Tom Pate Memorial Award for sportsmanship and contributions to the community. Maver was able to assist the Stampeders in their victories, both in the 2014 and 2018 seasons. We are so proud of you, Rob! Congratulations on all of your successes.

Training Talk

At the time of the writing of this column, we are past the halfway mark of our July mini-camp. With the unfortunate news of the CFL injuries in Saskatchewan and Montreal, we were very curious to see how our return to play plan would perform. Happy to announce that we have had zero soft tissue injuries (knock on wood) in our two practices back, meaning the players have been working and doing what is necessary to prepare for Game 1. We will be more than ready for that September 25th kickoff vs. Western at Alumni Stadium.

The health and safety of our players continues to be of the utmost importance to the coaching staff. We have come so far together and are so close to taking the field together that we cannot afford to let our guard down at this point. Being able to work directly with the defensive line, I can see that we are as close to game shape as possible, even after this extended offseason. This is a feather in the cap of the players commitment to winning.

Training Camp now has a definite date at the end of August, and we are looking forward to taking the field with pads on. There is still work to do between now and then. However, with this being the first real physical test of our offseason training, I am pleased with the progress we have made.

Save the Date

2021 Home Opener

When: Saturday, September 25th at 6:00 p.m. Where: Alumni Stadium Opponent: Western Mustangs

FOGF Memberships

Despite the pandemic and continuous lockdowns, Gryphon Nation has been able to grow in support. Our membership did not stop its momentum picking up another 10 members in recent months. Alumni, Parents of Players, and Friends of the Gryphon Football are all finding program engagement within the membership. We will attempt to feature each FOGF Member in future newsletters. We are Stronger Together.

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, or bereavements that you would like us to share.