By François Ferland
MontrealAlouettes.com
Sherbrooke – Professional football often sees teams holding their pre-season training camps on university campuses, due in large part to the demands of the 80-odd players who gather for them every year. Included among the amenities required to meet those demands are locker rooms, at least one practice field, meeting rooms for the players and coaches, offices for the coaching staff, bedrooms, a cafeteria capable of serving full meals, and so on.
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Étienne Boulay |
Spending a number of weeks on a university campus will inevitably bring back memories for many of the players attending camp. Following a practice this week, Alouettes safety Étienne Boulay shared a memory of his own, dating back to when he was studying at Kent School, a Connecticut-area high school.
“We were playing against the team from Northfield Mount Hermon (Massachusetts) and I remember that Dallas Baker, who’s currently at camp with us right now, was one of their receivers at the time. We ended up winning the game 42 to 7, and I scored two touchdowns,” recounted Boulay. “Since training camp started, I’ve been dying to tease him about it.”
It’s worth mentioning that Étienne, a familiar face on the Alouettes’ defence and special teams, used to play as both a receiver and a running back while in high school.
Regarding Dallas Baker, the receiver went on to play for the University of Florida Gators, winning a championship with the team in 2006. He was later drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers (seventh round), with whom he won the Super Bowl in 2008 (he was part of the team’s starting roster for more than half the season), before being released in 2009 due to a hip injury. Last season he played for the Jacksonville Sharks of the Arena Football League.
2005: Championship Season
Boulay decided to attend Kent School because his dream growing up was to one day play for a NCAA football team.
“At the time, university football in Quebec was still a ways off from getting to where it is today (the Universities of Montreal and Sherbrooke didn’t even have teams at the time), so I grew up watching NCAA games on TV. It didn’t take long for me to realize that enrolling myself into an American high school was probably the best way for me to maximize my chances of achieving my goal. It was during a summer try-out camp being held by the Concordia Stingers that I was approached by a representative from Kent School.”
“Being so far away from my family was brand new to me,” said Boulay, who nevertheless didn’t once regret his decision. “The encouragement that my parents showed me helped for sure. They never missed a game, despite the fact that getting to one entailed a six hour drive in either direction.”
Étienne finally set foot into the world of NCAA football in 2002, when he joined the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. “I could not wait to make my debut. I was especially looking forward to meeting the coach who recruited me while I was still at Kent School, although unfortunately he was no longer working for the university by the time I arrived.”
Quick to put his disappointment aside, things got off to a good start for Boulay all the same. “I earned a starting spot on the team and was being used as both a defensive back and a kick return specialist. I was happy to be playing on defence since that’s where I wanted to be.”
Boulay never felt homesick over the years he spent on American soil. “I learned to deal with it, and the spirit of camaraderie that was present within the team, especially during my fourth and final year of eligibility, helped a lot. When I joined the team we were ranked 110th out of the 123 Division 1-AA teams in the country, and by the time I left, we were ranked first. I remember us dominating in terms of turnovers. The chemistry that we developed over those four years is something that I’ll never forget.”
During his final season with the Wildcats, in 2005, Étienne recorded 66 tackles and five interceptions.
Fatherhood
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| Étienne signing autographs at training camp |
The likeable Montreal athlete will be undertaking his sixth season with the Alouettes beginning this summer. “I can’t believe how fast time flies,” said Boulay, his hands on his head. “It still feels as though I’m about to start my second season.”
Étienne, who was selected 16th overall by the Alouettes in the 2006 CFL Canadian Draft (and was also elected the CFL’s East Division Rookie of the Year during that same season) admits that he will miss Mathieu Proulx, who retired earlier this winter. “We shared the same position (safety) and were roommates on the road for six years. Of course I’m going to miss him.”
Boulay, who is already coming off of back-to-back Grey Cup championship seasons, appears to have even more emotional times ahead of him. His wife Zoey, whom he met while the two were studying at the University of New Hampshire, is expected to give birth to the couple’s first son this August.
Notes: Étienne finished fifth on the team last year for total defensive tackles recorded, with 38, and tied for second with Mark Estelle for total interceptions, with four.
