It is about 20 minutes into a training session when Damon Allen instructs quarterback Brad Sinopoli to stop.
“That’s what I want you to look like when you’re throwing the football,” Allen, the all-time leader in Canadian Football League passing yards, tells the 23-year-old from Peterborough, Ont.
Minutes later Allen, who operates a quarterback academy in the Toronto area, explains what he liked.
“You saw the way he was throwing the football with that kind of authority and confidence. That’s how I want him to look, even when he makes a mistake.”
Sinopoli, selected by the Calgary Stampeders in the fourth round of last month’s CFL draft, worked out with Allen four times during the last month. The final session was Friday at York University.
Quarterbacks and rookies on all eight CFL teams are now taking part in mini-camps. The main training camps open this weekend.
A Canadian quarterback has not started a CFL game since 1996, when Giulio Caravatta suited up for the B.C. Lions. Only 21 homegrown quarterbacks have gotten a significant opportunity to play in the league since 1955.
There are two other Canadian quarterbacks on CFL rosters right now — Danny Brannagan in Toronto and Marc Mueller in Edmonton — but Sinopoli is seen as the strongest candidate to end the drought.
If Sinopoli makes the Stampeders that would be a great story, but he knows his passport alone will not ensure him a spot.
“Coach (John) Hufnagel told me, ‘You’re coming in as any other guy and you’ll get the same opportunities as any other guy and it’s on you to earn a spot,’ ” Sinopoli said. And that’s the way I want it. I want to earn it on my own merit.”
Henry Burris and Drew Tate are firmly entrenched at the top of Calgary’s depth chart. Sinopoli will compete with Steven Gachette and Reggie McNeal for the third-string job.
“Brad is physically fit,” Stampeders offensive co-ordinator Dave Dickenson said. “He’s going to be athletically on par with all of our quarterbacks, including Henry. He can make the same throws everybody else is making and, at the same time, has a lot of room for growth.”
But Gachette and McNeal have one advantage over Sinopoli — they both played quarterback in the NCAA, which means they have faced tougher competition than Sinopoli faced when he was at the University of Ottawa.
Allen’s goal during the last month was to prepare Sinopoli so he could hit the ground running.
“I showed him how to read CFL coverages,” said Allen. “Hopefully that will ease his mind going into camp. Hopefully he’ll be saying, ‘OK, this is what Damon was talking about.’ “
Sinopoli, who won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the nation’s top university football player last season, thinks recruiting Allen, a veteran of 23 CFL seasons, to train him has paid off.
“He gives you scenarios that you’re going to use in a game,” said Sinopoli. “They’re all practical and, as a quarterback, that’s what you want to practise. It’s hard to put yourself in a game situation when you’re practising, but he does it.”
Allen, who is looking to market his quarterback academy nationally, believes Sinopoli has an excellent chance to have a long CFL career.
“What I’m impressed with is his dedication and his passion and his willingness to work to be the best he can possibly be,” Allen said. “These aren’t light workouts. He’s exhausted when it’s over.
“When I played I was a perfectionist. I worked at my craft constantly. I was passionate about the sport. I worked the intellectual side of the game and it’s nice to actually pass that on to young players, like Brad, who are also willing to put in the work.”
Allen hosted a quarterback challenge for high school players prior to his final session with Sinopoli. At the end of the event, Sinopoli said a few words.
“I talked about the process I went through,” he said. “These guys have more opportunities to come out and work with guys like Damon and have events like this. I told them to relish opportunities like this and take every opportunity they can to learn. That’s what I have done.”