The Guelph Gryphons have added a pair of former defensive coordinators to their coaching staff.
Joe Sardo is to work with the linebackers while Mark Forsyth is to concentrate on the defensive backs. Both were with the McMaster Marauders last season.
āWe just looked to get the best coaches and they are definitely guys we looked at as great people to bring in as part of our program,ā Gryphon head coach Kevin MacNeill said. āWhenever you get great coaches, itās a huge bonus. Guys who have coordinated before understand that side of things and really bring us a little bit extra to their positional coaching.ā
Sardo had two stints at McMaster for a total of eight seasons and started last season as the Maraudersā defensive coordinator, but left partway through the season and is excited for the opportunity with the Gryphons.
āI wanted to stay involved in the game and the program at Guelph is just fantastic,ā Sardo said.
Last season was Forsythās 27th with the Marauders and he finished it as co-defensive coordinator with head coach Greg Knox.
āI had 27 great years at McMaster,ā Forsyth said. āI had the privilege of coaching with some outstanding coaches and working with some outstanding football players over that time and in the process we had a lot of success and created a lot of memories. Iām extremely grateful for the time that I had there and felt very blessed along the way. Those are years that I wouldnāt trade for anything.ā
While Sardo and Forsyth are joining the Gryphon coaching staff, Donnavan Carter is leaving it after a season as defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator.
āWe just want to wish him the best of luck,ā MacNeill said. āHeās considered a friend and heās been great for our program. Heās great with the kids and heās done a great job. We were very fortunate to have him for the year he was with us and we wish him all the best in the future.ā
For Sardo and Forsyth, joining the Gryphons reunites them with defensive coordinator Adam Grandy who played for McMaster while both were there.
āThereās always a level of comfort when youāve worked with people before,ā Grandy said. āObviously weāre extremely fortunate to have coach Sardo and coach Forsyth join our staff. They bring an incredible wealth of knowledge to our football program. I think that can just add to the success of our football team and of our defence especially.ā
āI had the opportunity to coach Adam when he was there as a linebacker and Iāve got a great relationship with him,ā Sardo said. āFrom my standpoint specifically, Iām really excited to take this role, a role that is good for me for what I do.ā
āAdam was a hard-working player,ā Forsyth said. āHe was the type of guy that would do anything you asked him to do. He loved the game and he had a great passion for the game and you could see it in his coaching.
āAny time you have a chance to see former players that youāve coached go on and give back to the game of football in various capacities, thatās the greatest thing they could do and thatās the best thank you that they could give you to give back to the game in a way that we were able to give to them. Thatās part of passing the torch on and youāre always glad to see kids that you coach stay in the game in some capacity.ā
Their addition to the coaching staff adds significant experience to a group that already had plenty of experience.
āIf you think of the coaching that this defence has, thereās a lot of experience at every level of the game ā CFL, CIS and high school,ā Sardo said. āI think this defence and the coaches through Adamās leadership is really exciting. Thereās a lot of good things to come from it.ā
āWe have quite a collection of defensive coaches that have great expertise in defensive football at large and in technique, positionally speaking,ā Forsyth said.
Could having a numerous coaches who have been in charge before be a problem?
āI think from the outside looking in, that could be a concern. Are there too many cooks in the kitchen? But itās a great situation here,ā Grandy said. āI think everyone understands their role within the team and within the coaching staff and everyoneās working toward the same goal.
āUltimately itās about success, about getting the best 12 on the field and about calling the right play for the right situation. Everyoneās all onboard about that. Itās good that we get a lot of different ideas and ideas with successful experience as well which again I think just translates to us being a better football team. Having all those former coordinators having a full understanding of the full defence really just makes us better.ā
Both Sardo and Forsyth attended a pair of weekend mini camps the Gryphons had in the last six weeks and both will be at next weekās Spring Camp.
āIām new so just getting to know the players is step 1,ā Sardo said. āItās a building experience for me to get to know the guys, to get to know the system, to get to work alongside Adam and (linebackers coach Nate Galoni) and try to make the players the best I can.ā
āThatās the advantage of taking part in the mini camps and spring football ā to get up to speed on the upper classmen already in the program and to put names to faces so that come August weāll know each other pretty well,ā Forsyth said. āTo that end, that process is going well.ā
Both also know that theyāll have plenty of film to watch this off season ā film of opposing teams and film of the Gryphons so that they know the tendencies of all the returning players.
Both also know that the time until the start of training camp will fly by in a hurry.
āThey always do. Itās a blink of an eye,ā Sardo said. āItās important that the kids train and itās important that the coaches continue to analyze and work on improvements on what we need to do and what we donāt need to do and what we can clean up.
āFour months seems like a long time, but I look at it in terms of weeks and itāll go by quickly,ā Forsyth said. āI remember when I played I always thought that this time of the year was such a long time because youāre anxious to get back, but as a coach thereās never enough time.ā
All the efforts of the players and coaching staff from now until the start of training camp in mid-August will go to recovering from last seasonās 3-5 campaign.
āWe have to utilize the summertime,ā MacNeill said. āWeāre fortunate to have a lot of players around and a lot of our recruits come from this area. We canāt waste those months. We have to utilize them to get our conditioning up and to work on our strength and conditioning.
āWe need our players getting ready for the season. Itās going to be here very soon and weāre not very happy with how things went last year. Weāre putting in extra work to make sure weāre as ready as possible.ā
Adding some more experience to the Defensive Staff. Joe Sardo & Mark Forsyth join the Gryphons ? ARTICLE https://t.co/13ZFhjwch4 #TeamFirst pic.twitter.com/fFBkdYOOqN
— Gryphon Football (@GryphonFootball) April 24, 2017
Source:Ā Rob Massey, Guelph Gryphons
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