Murray McCormick
The Leader-Post

Weston Dressler has taken advantage of a winter of opportunity.

The diminutive Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver had planned on spending the winter in Regina training and rehabilitating a broken right leg that he suffered late in the 2009 CFL season. Dressler also decided to become involved in the community during his free time.

That desire led Dressler to the Red Cross and becoming part of RespectED an anti-bullying program with Riders defensive end Luc Mullinder. Dressler and Mullinder have appeared in 42 schools and contacted 8,000 kids while talking about the different types of bullying and harassment and educating young people about the problem.

"It has been fun travelling across Saskatchewan and seeing some of the small communities around here,'' said Dressler, a 24-year-old native of Bismarck, N.D. "Luc and I have gone to so many schools outside of Regina and I didn't know there were that many.

"When we do go, every kid in the school has a piece of green on them and it's pretty cool to see that. They are excited to have someone from the Riders hang out with them for a while.''

Dressler, who was one of the smaller kids growing up, delivers an anti-bullying message even though he was never a victim of bullying.

"I've been teased about my size my whole life,'' said Dressler, who is 5-foot-7 and 179 pounds.

"I've been fortunate that I had friends and family around so bullying never became a problem for me. Not every kid has the blessings that I did growing up so we try to give them alternative ways to face bullying.''

Dressler fits the workshops in around his training and rehabilitation sessions with the Riders' training staff. Dressler suffered a broken right fibula and sprained ankle in a 32-22 win over the Toronto Argonauts on Oct. 10. There was some talk that Dressler might return for the Riders' playoff run but that didn't materialize.

Instead, Dressler watched from the sidelines. He said the rehabilitation has gone as well as could be expected. His progress was slowed due to some loose pieces of bone and bone spurs that needed to be surgically removed.

"That was unexpected but you have to move on from it,'' said Dressler, who was named the CFL's most outstanding rookie in 2008. "I can do everything and I can perform. There is some discomfort in there but I'm trying to take care of all of that. I'm trying to loosen up and strengthen those muscles as well as I can.''

Dressler feels that the attention his leg has required has made for a challenging off-season.

"I'm focused on that injury more than the other physical training that I need,'' said Dressler, who is expected to be ready for the opening of training camp on June 6. "I enjoy doing that more. It has been a different off-season but I'm trying to do the best that I can.''

Dressler is also heading into his option year. The Riders have re-signed receivers Chris Getzlaf and Rob Bagg and quarterback Darian Durant to contract extensions but that has yet to take place with Dressler.

"I get asked that question quite a few times,'' Dressler said. "I would have to see what type of offer was made and what the team's interest in me is. It's obvious that I would like to be here as long as possible.''

Dressler hears many questions because each anti-bullying session concludes with a question-and-answer sessions. Dressler said the most popular question is who was the 13th man at the end of the 2009 Grey Cup game?

"You wouldn't think that kids in Grades 3 and 4 would want to know about that,'' Dressler said with a chuckle.

Dressler added that he has a speech prepared for each school in response to the question.

"I try to tell them a little bit about football and how many guys are involved with one team,'' said Dressler, who is to be in Yorkton tonight as the guest speaker at the fourth annual Football Night in Saskatchewan fundraising dinner. "There are so many guys who have to communicate with each other during every single play of each game. If you're not talking to each other or communicating, mistakes can happen.''

courtesy of www.leaderpost.com