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July 10, 2021

Offseason Gains

Talk about third and looooooooong.

It’s been 21 months without CFL action.

But the Stamps returned to the field at McMahon Stadium Saturday for the first day of training camp and for young receiver Richie Sindani, it was almost surreal.

“I honestly … sometimes on the field, I thought I was going to wake up from a dream,” he said. “I didn’t think we were going to play.”

Like most people, the pandemic was tough for Sindani but it provided him the opportunity to get into the best shape of his life.
The results of his off-season workouts? Becoming almost unrecognizable on the field.

“This year I don’t know what happened,” Sindani chuckled. “Last year I didn’t do a lot, but this year I got up to 235 at one point. I think that’s the range that Chase Claypool and DK Metcalf – that new prototype of receiver dances around that range, maybe a bit bigger.

“Right before camp I dropped down to right around 220, so compared to 2019 when I was playing at about 204, I’m up a good 16 or more pounds. I still feel really quick and strong; I think I’m still growing into my frame, to be honest.”

 

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Having been so lean, he determined that during the off-season he needed to get stronger to make a difference in all facets of the offence.

“I think having the physique that can be outside and bully DBs on the perimeter and then come into the box and then add that run element is huge,” he said. “At that point, you can do everything on the field and that’s something I wanted to be able to do. I put on weight so I could handle linebackers and defensive ends, and of course perimeter players. That’s something I wanted to do after 2019. I felt like I wasn’t as physical, but that’s what I’ve gotten to now and I can’t wait to put it together on the field.”

That said, Sindani and his teammates were careful during the first day back on-field, easing into the pool, so to speak.

“I think a lot of players during the Covid period struggled to have a consistent training program,” said Sindani. “When you return to the level of play that you need to be at, certain ligaments and joints may not be ready for the twitch that’s required to play.

“Dave and Huff have a good grip on how they want to put our bodies through training camp. You don’t want to lose bodies during this time. I honestly think that they’ve prepared quite well for that. But really what it comes down to is guys taking care of themselves, but keeping health as a priority along with playing well.”

Sindani isn’t the only player who showed up in great shape.

He was noticing guys all over the field, especially on offence, who used the lengthy break to transform their bodies.

“If you had a longer off-season and you recovered from injuries from the past season, you really only had time to get better,” he explained. “Really, I think physically you can tell that certain guys have added muscle or dropped weight and they look good. Now it’s just tapping in mentally because the conditioning only goes so far.

“The guys that I’ve seen that are noticeably different are obviously Bo. I think he’s slimmed down, he looks different, so maybe we’ll see some RAC from him this year. Hergy, he’s a bit bigger this year and a guy like Markeith Ambles are guys I noticed on Day 1.

“There’s a lot of guys in great shape this year.”