Newf
11-28-2009, 04:01 PM
For a man who's accomplished as much as he has in his short CFL stint, Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman speaks with a unique level of humility; never willing to take any credit.
''The stars are being aligned for me to be at the right place at the right time with a brilliant quarterback who has set the tone for our football team,'' Trestman said Friday as his squad prepared to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 97th Grey Cup.
It's a philosophy that Trestman has tried to implement with his team as well. This Alouette group, that once had no shortage of smack talk and swagger, now seems more subtle and focused while at the same time is playing better football.
''I never thought a coach could present that to a team and say: we're going to go out there and be physical, we're going to go have fun, we're going to go out there and win but we're going to be humble about it,'' Als quarterback Anthony Calvillo said.
Cornerback Davis Sanchez echoed the All-Star pivots sentiment about the Als field boss.
''We follow (Tresman's) lead, which is respect the opponents and be humble in victory and defeat,'' Sanchez said.
Trestman's polite responses and deft touch with the media are no indication of softness in his coaching style. His players will tell you as nice as he is, he is an absolute tyrant when it comes to the finer details of the game. A lesson his players learned very early on in the season.
''In one of our first meetings, he was installing a play and all of a sudden he stopped and started yelling for Jamel Richardson to sit up straight in his chair,'' slotback Ben Cahoon shared. ''It came out of left field.''
Richardson laughed off the incident but admits it's changed his demeanor, and posture.
''I had to sit up straight the whole time and now when I sit down, I arch my back up and sit straight,'' laughed Richardson.
It's no secret Trestman has turned a lot of heads in his short stint in the CFL and rumours are abound that he's been turning heads south of the border as well, with his name being linked to coaching jobs in both the NFL and major US colleges.
When asked about those rumours, Trestman wouldn't comment directly but stayed true to form in claiming any attention he may be getting is a direct result of the hard work from the people he's surrounded by.
''The stars are being aligned for me to be at the right place at the right time with a brilliant quarterback who has set the tone for our football team,'' Trestman said Friday as his squad prepared to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 97th Grey Cup.
It's a philosophy that Trestman has tried to implement with his team as well. This Alouette group, that once had no shortage of smack talk and swagger, now seems more subtle and focused while at the same time is playing better football.
''I never thought a coach could present that to a team and say: we're going to go out there and be physical, we're going to go have fun, we're going to go out there and win but we're going to be humble about it,'' Als quarterback Anthony Calvillo said.
Cornerback Davis Sanchez echoed the All-Star pivots sentiment about the Als field boss.
''We follow (Tresman's) lead, which is respect the opponents and be humble in victory and defeat,'' Sanchez said.
Trestman's polite responses and deft touch with the media are no indication of softness in his coaching style. His players will tell you as nice as he is, he is an absolute tyrant when it comes to the finer details of the game. A lesson his players learned very early on in the season.
''In one of our first meetings, he was installing a play and all of a sudden he stopped and started yelling for Jamel Richardson to sit up straight in his chair,'' slotback Ben Cahoon shared. ''It came out of left field.''
Richardson laughed off the incident but admits it's changed his demeanor, and posture.
''I had to sit up straight the whole time and now when I sit down, I arch my back up and sit straight,'' laughed Richardson.
It's no secret Trestman has turned a lot of heads in his short stint in the CFL and rumours are abound that he's been turning heads south of the border as well, with his name being linked to coaching jobs in both the NFL and major US colleges.
When asked about those rumours, Trestman wouldn't comment directly but stayed true to form in claiming any attention he may be getting is a direct result of the hard work from the people he's surrounded by.