Rob Maver
CFL.ca
Hi all! My name is Rob Maver from the University of Guelph, and I will provide you with an insight many of you have not seen for quite some time from E-Camp: that of a kicker.
“Having grown up watching the CFL, it was very special to partake in a 48-hour job interview with the teams. It was awesome getting to meet the coaches and executives around the league.” -Rob Maver
Check in was an experience I will never forget. The event was held at the Park Hyatt Toronto hotel, a very nice venue. Walking up the stairs to the CFL E-Camp check in desk, I immediately noticed Mr. Rita of the Toronto Argonauts. It was really neat to see the faces I have seen in the media over the years in person.
At check in, I was given a Reebok bag, which had all of all of my personalized gear for the weekend. This gear included a sweat suit, compression shorts, t-shirt, socks, and hat among other items. More importantly, Ryan Janzen from the CFL League Office, handed me an envelope. Inside: an itinerary for the weekend and an interview schedule. I had interviews with the Stampeders, Argonauts and the Tiger-Cats on the Friday night. I felt they all went very well.
Being the lone kicker there, I was grouped with the quarterbacks and the running backs. You spend the majority of your time throughout E-Camp with your group. I really enjoyed this since I was able to hang out and go through all of the testing with two of my former teammates: Nick FitzGibbon and Justin Dunk.
Saturday morning we did our medicals followed by the first round of testing. This first round of testing included the ‘almighty’ bench press. Originally I was in line to go right after Mike Montoya, but after watching him shatter the E-Camp bench record with 40 reps, I decided it would be a good idea to find somebody else to go right after him, ha-ha. Fortunately, I found somebody who was willing to do this so that the scouts did not see a cliff jump between consecutive bench press performances.
The night testing consisted of height/weight and the vertical and broad jumps.
For all of the guys participating in E-Camp, Sunday was game-day. Sure, the interviews and combine testing are excellent measures of one’s personality and athleticism, however the most important test was on the field. Following breakfast I gathered my kicking equipment, and made my way to the dome with fellow special teamer, Conor Elliott, a long snapper from Western.
After a brief warm-up, Coach Mike O’Shea of the Argonauts made an announcement that Conor would be snapping. I caught for Conor as he snapped and then again for Christian Houle, a long snapper from the University of Montreal. Both of them snapped very well. Immediately following Christian’s last snap, I was notified that I was on next to kick field goals.
After a quick stretch and warm up routine I was ready to go. Coach O’Shea grabbed Kevin Eiben. Kevin Eiben has held for many kickers the Argonauts have had. CFL Director of Officiating Tom Higgins came over and told me how we’d be running the workout and we were off.
The workout consisted of several kicks from various distances from both hash marks. To wind down, Mr. Higgins put me through some short kicks to show coaches my elevation, and then we ended with a convert. Like the snappers, I felt I kicked at a high level.
Following the kicking session, I re-joined my group to run the 40-yard dash and the shuttle run tests. Since I am from Brampton, I have to give a shout out to another Brampton player: Steve Turner. Steve, from Bishop’s, was the talk of this event. His record-breaking 4.31 time in the 40 was the second record this group had broken this E-Camp.
After the last shuttle run, the running backs did their one-on-ones against the linebackers. Pass protection and short-intermediate routes were the two drills used for the one-on-ones. This period lasted roughly half an hour, and then we were done. After breakdown the next group was in to run their 40s and do their one-on-ones.
My overall impression of E-Camp was that it was an incredible weekend. Having grown up watching the CFL, it was very special to partake in a 48-hour job interview with the teams. It was awesome getting to meet the coaches and executives around the league, especially since I have been a fan of this league for as long as I can remember.
With E-Camp in the books now, I’m going to head back to Guelph, finish up my degree and continue to work hard at my game. Now that this weekend is all done, I am one step closer towards competing for my dream job. Up next: The Canadian Draft.