Sitting down with Gryphons football coach to talk expectation, faith, diet and culture
I sat down in coach Stu Lang’s office inside Alumni Stadium this Monday morning after Guelph’s early bye-week quickly faded into the past. There are papers and coffee cups scattered on large tables; something you’d expect from the coach of one of Canada’s most successful football programs.
“You sure made us wait for that win last week, coach.” I sarcastically commented on the nail biting 24-23 win over Windsor on Labour Day as we sit down for the interview.
Lang reclined in his chair with laughter, “I keep tellin’ the players you can’t live on a diet like that.” He paused and reflected momentarily, “…But it’s a good sign. The leadership has continued from last year after losing good fifth year guys.”
Leadership was a big part of the conversation with Lang as we spoke about the Windsor game last week and the Laurier game the week before. “We thought the offense was going to carry the defense going into the year but it has been a bit of a reverse.” Lang commented.
His statement was blatantly obvious, especially in the game at home to Windsor when Guelph’s defense and special teams compiled 10 sacks and scored two touchdowns.
Throughout the interview Lang made it clear that the expectation was undoubtedly the CIS finals but he acknowledged the need to focus on the task at hand before worrying too much about the future.
“People have called Toronto our kryptonite….We’re trying to make sure we focus on Toronto, get a win, then concern ourselves with our next game.” said Lang.
This philosophy will be put to the test this week, no doubt. The Gryphons website is already advertising homecoming tickets before letting you proceed to the main page and, as always, homecoming is the talk around campus.
The current bye-week has been all about what Lang calls “correct and polish” which essentially means the team has worked on correcting what they did wrong in previous games and polish what they did right. With veteran running back Rob Farquharson expected to return in the game versus Toronto, Lang was expecting some of the polishing on offense to take care of itself, though he notes high optimism in his other young backs.
Guelph has certainly been the bearer of much media attention the past few years with what was formerly The Score, but rebranded as Sportsnet360, carrying national coverage of our past two homecomings and the Hamilton Tiger Cats playing out of Alumni Stadium. Lang welcomed the forever growing attention to our program. “Previously, when we recruited out East and West, no one knew where Guelph was nor could they spell it but now they know.” Lang said, smiling.
Lang is humble enough to admit they have copied pages from the successes of other programs around the continent, specifically the Oregon Ducks, who have turned a small town team into a year-in, year-out contender with branding and a culture they’ve built around the team that Lang refers to as a “sizzle.” I joke with Lang asking if this is why the team has so many different jerseys and he doesn’t hesitate to nod with a “yes.”
After seeing Lang at the “Jesus Who” conversations that happened around campus last year, I felt it necessary to ask about how he incorporates his faith into his job as a football coach. “After attending a chapel service in my rookie season with the Edmonton Eskimos,” Lang said, “…[the experience] subsequently changed the way I look at my life and the way I live my life.” He said in a state of reflection. “I encourage players to develop a system of beliefs and live by them regardless of what they are…I try to be a good role model but you have to decide how you’re going to live your life and live up to your principles.”
Regardless of whether Lang is expressing his faith in Jesus Christ or his football program, you can be assured, by simply speaking to players, students and faculty across campus, that when Lang speaks, they are paying attention. It is this attention and respect in the front office that, for the entire university, will hopefully pay off with a national championship in the near future. “Let’s climb this mountain,” Lang spoke of reaching the OUA finals, “…and once we get to the top of this mountain, we’ll be able to see all the other mountains.”