CALGARY — A rookie himself in a way, Dave Dickenson says rookie camp is a chance to get a head start.
The Stamps’ new sideline boss and former offensive coordinator is one of two rookie head coaches in the CFL entering the 2016 season, and he plans to take full advantage of the four-day window teams have to report early to training camp.
With rookies, quarterbacks and injured veterans allowed to go to camp early, Dickenson says those few days are a pivotal starting point, not just for his players but for himself.
“I really think rookie camp’s important,” Dickenson told reporters in Calgary this week. “If you really want your rookies to have a chance to compete against your veterans I think you have to do it, and I think it’s a good thing for coaches as well.
“It’ll be a good trial run for me to get a chance to talk to a group of guys in a different way than I would have in the past.”
For both Dickenson and the players there’s an opportunity to get ahead of the game before veterans report.
The rookies can get up to speed on a version of football many have never seen before. They can begin to digest information early so that by the time veterans report they can react rather than think.
It’s less about evaluation than it is about preparing the first-year players to compete and then be evaluated down the road.
“We need to give them information and we need to let them react instead of think while they’re practising,” said Dickenson. “To me, if you ask your rookies to overthink all the time, they can’t show you what you want.
“What we do in rookie camp is give them a foundation so when they’re competing versus the vets, they’re reacting to what they see instead of overthinking,” he added. “You’re not making the team at all in rookie camp — you’re just trying to show me you can learn and give yourself a chance to play fast and be yourself once camp starts.”
While many rookies see a CFL field for the first time while gaining exposure to the level of competition, Dickenson himself will see the field from a different vantage point. Soon the vets will start trickling in and as the calendar flips to June, the first game of the 2016 season appears on the calendar.
The first-time head coach spent five seasons as the offensive coordinator under John Hufnagel, a 100-game winner and the team’s current general manager, and while he’ll keep many things the same he won’t be afraid to add his own wrinkles.
“I came from a system with Huff in the mid-90s,” said Dickenson. “I played under that system for 13 years or whatever it was. I like that system.
“I think it works — the way we install; the way we compete; the way we force our guys to see who can learn on the fly. That’s going to stay the same.”
“We need to give them information and we need to let them react instead of think while they’re practising.”
Dave Dickenson
On the other hand, Dickenson has some new ideas too.
“I’m gonna try a couple of things called power practices,” he said. “Just back to back practices and I’m hoping to give guys more time off in the afternoon to try to save legs.
“Camp isn’t what it used to be; it’s not this ‘bang-bang, let’s see who’s tough’ type of thing. It’s still very difficult on guys’ legs and arms and stuff like that.
“I’m trying to give guys a chance to catch their breath at times, get off their feet which will be different.”
One thing you can be sure Dickenson will try and maintain is his team’s successful track record. The Stampeders are coming off a 14-4 season in which they lost in the Western Final to Edmonton, while before that in 2014 they won the Grey Cup.
The new journey for him starts here with rookie camp, which kicks off at noon ET at McMahon Stadium. Main training camp gets under way on Sunday at 11:05 a.m ET.
– With files from Stampeders.com