Based on my first day of camp, I’ve loved adjusting to the Canadian game. It’s an awesome game with the bigger field compared to the American game and I love it. I love the challenge.
I’m watching Henry closely and learning a lot from him about what playing quarterback in this league is about. I don’t want to look at this as having arrived because I know I still have a long way to go.
My path to get here started in Florida. When I was in high school, nobody really wanted me because I really didn’t know the game of football. I didn’t understand the coverages.
I wasn’t even thinking about playing high school football. I played Pop Warner football since I was six years old but when I got to high school, I thought I was done. Then I saw guys out on the field throwing so I went and chucked the ball a little bit and the coach said, “Hey, come one out.” It was almost like, “You can throw the ball really far, so let’s play you.”
I went from Florida and walked on to a Division II Christian school in Missouri — Southwest Baptist. My freshman year, I got the starting nod and I worked my butt off. When I first came into college, I weighed 146 pounds. In high school, I was the smallest and probably one of the slowest guys on my team. Coming into college, I told myself I was going to bust my butt and get faster and do the things I needed to do to get better.
When I first started? All my friends will tell you I was slow. But I just worked really hard at it, training all summer. In my four years in Missouri, I never went home in the summer. I stayed in Missouri all those summers to do parachute running, rubber bands and everything else I could to get faster.
I had four good years in college. My first year was a good learning year and my second, third and fourth, I was just trying to help the team win and we were able to turn around our record.
I went from there and now I’m in Canada. God has blessed me and I’m happy to be here.
I love getting a chance to come here. I love change and this is a really great experience. I’ve had a chance to meet different people and you guys are the nicest people ever. In Florida and in the States, a lot of people go their own way but Canadians are such nice people.
Steven Gachette, #17
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